On Sunday morning, at least nine people were injured in a shooting at a South Carolina nightclub. And a day earlier, in the same state, a shooting took place at a bustling shopping mall in Colombia, killing nine people and injuring five more as they fled in panic. Incidentally, no one there was seriously injured.

Police arrested a 22-year-old suspect in a shopping mall shooting, but his lawyer said he shot in self-defense. He is accused of illegally possessing a firearm because he does not have a license to possess a firearm.

All three shootings over the Easter weekend have been followed by several major shootings in recent times. Ten people were injured when a gunman opened fire on a New York subway last week. Around the same time, a man and a woman were killed and 10 others were injured in a crowded nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Earlier this month, six people were killed and at least 12 were injured in what became known as the Cold War in Sacramento, California. Last month, 10 people were shot dead at a party in Dallas.