From Idaho murders to Club Q shooting, a look back at the deadliest crimes that rocked America in 2022
Crime happens every day, all over the world and this year was not an exception. From the as-yet unsolved Idaho student murders to the disturbing Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, where 19 young lives were lost, 2022 saw some brutal crimes that rocked the nation to its core.
The Club Q shooting, which stunned the LGBTQ community as well as the wider American population, was another of the year's heinous crimes. 2022 was also the year that saw violent attacks on prominent political figures, such as the attack against Paul Pelosi, the husband of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Let us look back at some of the horrific events that shook America in 2022. Below, we have tried to arrange the events chronologically.
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Uvalde shooting
A mass shooting occurred on May 24 at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. An 18-year-old gunman entered the building with an AR-15 and shot dead 19 children and two adult teachers who were attempting to defend their students. As the bloodiest school massacre since Sandy Hook more than ten years ago, the mass shooting received global attention. Additionally, the Uvalde Police Department received harsh criticism for the way it handled the situation. Officers took over an hour to pursue and kill the shooter, Salvador Rolando Ramos, inside the school premises. Many noted that cops ought to have intervened more quickly and forcefully.
Highland Park shooting
Seven were shot dead and over 30 injured at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois. The shooter, Robert “Bobby” E Crimo III, managed to flee the scene but was subsequently taken into custody later that day. One victim died from their injuries in a nearby hospital, while five of the seven victims were pronounced dead at the site.
While the injured ranged in age from 8 to 85, the deceased were all 35 or older, with the oldest being 88. The shooter traveled by car to the Madison, Wisconsin, region after the shooting. According to authorities, he planned to use the weapons hidden in his car to carry out another mass shooting nearby. He was slapped with seven charges of first-degree murder, and if found guilty, he would have to serve a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Paul Pelosi attack
The brutal attack on Paul Pelosi remains one of the most chilling crimes of 2022. David Wayne Depape, 42, of Berkeley attacked Paul Pelosi on October 28 at his San Francisco home. Depape is accused of breaking into the house, assaulting Pelosi, 82, with a hammer, and breaking his skull while screaming that Nancy Pelosi was his intended victim. Depape is scheduled to be arraigned on December 28 on charges including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false impersonation of an elder, first-degree burglary, and endangering a public official's family member.
After speaking with Depape, San Francisco Police Sgt Carla Hurley claimed that he had a "kill list" that also included California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. Besides these political personalities, Depape also discussed including novelist Gale Breen and actor Tom Hanks in the list. Body camera footage from the incident revealed that an officer instructed DePape to put down the hammer before the latter did so anyway. This has helped to refute some conspiracy theories that surfaced after the incident.
The Idaho murders
Four college students were killed in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13 in a crime that continues to petrify the community. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, were discovered dead from stab wounds in their off-campus rental home. Police have not been able to locate a suspect or make any arrests. No weapon was found at the scene or close by, despite the fact that police suspect the killer used a fixed-blade knife.
The investigators are currently looking for a white Hyundai Elantra that was seen nearby. Meanwhile, web sleuths have put forth several conspiracy theories, including that the killer knew the victims, and that the killer was a woman, and many more. Police also acknowledged that investigation would be harder once students return home for the holidays. However, James Fry, the chief of the Moscow Police, promised that the probe would not slow down.
Club Q shooting
A mass shooting occurred at an LGBTQ club in Colorado on November 19 night into November 20 morning. Five people lost their lives in the tragedy, which happened at Club Q in Colorado Springs, while at least 18 more were hurt. Just before midnight, the shooter, Anderson Lee Aldrich, barged into the club and started shooting people with an AR-15-style rifle.
According to investigators, the shooter entered the establishment during a drag queen's birthday party and was only subdued by the actions of those within the club who attacked and restrained him. Raymond Green Vance, Daniel Aston, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump, and Kelly Loving lost their lives and the gunman was apprehended on the scene. He is currently held in the El Paso County Jail on five charges of first-degree murder.
Chesapeake Walmart shooting
A Virginia Walmart employee shot and murdered six people before turning the gun on himself on November 22. There were at least 50 individuals in the store at the time, and several were hurt. Shortly after the rampage started, police were called to the store, and they quickly learned that the shooter, Andre Bing, had already died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been working at the store as a nighttime team lead since 2010, according to a statement from Walmart.
Three of the dead were discovered in the break room. Three more victims died after being transferred to other hospitals, while one was discovered dead close to the store's entrance. The victims were Randy Blevins, Fernando Chavez-Baron, Lorenzo Gamble, Tyneka Johnson, Brian Pendleton, and Kellie Pyle. The gunman, according to the police, was equipped with a handgun and several rounds of ammo. In an attempt to uncover a potential motive for the shooting, investigators also dug into the background of the suspect. WAVY-TV, a Virginia TV station, said that the gunman might have been influenced by coworkers who had been bothering him about a change in his employment status. But it's unclear what that change involved.