Just minutes ago, around 23:30, BST, a tweet from a CNN reporter brought to the world the news of an active shooter around a polling station in Azusa, California.
The Azusa polling station is now locked down after shots were heard nearby. “At least two people were wounded, authorities said,” reads CNN’s preliminary article. Azusa’s proximity to a major urban centre —it’s located 30 miles outside Los Angeles—will create concern and possibly panic throughout California and the rest of the country.
Currently, around 30 voters, including families and children, are locked down in the voting room, says one citizen who is currently on the scene. CNN reports that locked down citizens are still voting within the room, a sign of the great American stalwartness.
We at Exeposé will continue to monitor the situation, but at this point, it is unclear why the shooting has happened. The identity of the shooter is still unknown and as of yet, CNN did not make it clear whether the shooting had any political motive at all.
This shooting could be just another symptom of the very loose American gun-control laws, and the movement, as was supported by Donald Trump, to intimidate voters. An organisation, called the ‘Oath Keepers,’ connected to the grassroots militia movement, has been threatening for weeks to keep vigilance over ordinary voters at the polls, in the effort to limit voter fraud. These modern-day militia often bring guns to polling stations and stand by, watching as citizens exercise the right to vote. Their vigilance and presence creates debate and tension within the political sphere, and voter intimidation has been a hot-button topic within this election.
It is yet unclear if the shooter in California is in anyway linked to voter intimidation organisations or the Oath Keepers.
