--- title: Orlando Is Not Newtown, Charleston or San Bernardino description: The deadliest mass shooting in American history should not feel routine canonical: https://time.com/4368457/orlando-newtown-charleston-san-bernardino/ author: Kirsten Salyer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-14T19:25:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:55.524Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Orlando Is Not Newtown, Charleston or San Bernardino og:description: The deadliest mass shooting in American history should not feel routine og:url: https://time.com/4368457/orlando-newtown-charleston-san-bernardino/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fc301c2febf3523/698897ceab6d774e166aa11e/orlando-mass-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Candle Light Vigil for the Massacre Victims in Orlando og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Orlando Is Not Newtown, Charleston or San Bernardino twitter:description: The deadliest mass shooting in American history should not feel routine twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4fc301c2febf3523/698897ceab6d774e166aa11e/orlando-mass-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Orlando Is Not Newtown Is Not Charleston Is Not San Bernardino > Sponsored content. 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TIME spoke to families of mass shooting victims - here are their thoughts and prayers for Orlando families_  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Jun 14, 2016 7:25 PM UTC  Thousands gather at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to pay their respects for those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Thousands gather at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to pay their respects for those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Samuel Corum—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Kirsten Salyer](https://time.com/author/kirsten-salyer/)  ## Kirsten Salyer Jun 14, 2016 7:25 PM UTC **Correction appended, June 15** The formula may seem the same: An armed assailant shoots into a crowd. The news spreads, detail by detail. Law enforcement begins an investigation. Public officials tweet their prayers. The shooter is named. We speculate on motive. We assign blame. We debate gun control. We debate mental health care. We debate national security. We define, and redefine, “terrorism” and “hate crime.” The President makes a speech. We mourn. And we remember the last time we felt this way. The last betrayal of our sense of safety in America. The last time we drew upon our emotional outrage to make political arguments. The last time we sent our thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims. It was never that long ago, the last time. In the aftermath, it’s easy to feel like we’re repeating an endless loop of senseless tragedy. But it’s a mistake. The [deadliest mass shooting](http://time.com/4365325/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-deadliest-history/) in American history should not feel routine. During President Obama’s time in office, he has made at least [16 addresses](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the%5Fslatest/2016/06/12/%5F15%5Fother%5Ftimes%5Fpresident%5Fobama%5Fhad%5Fto%5Faddress%5Fmass%5Fshootings%5Fduring%5Fhis.html) in response to shootings. On Sunday, he [spoke](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/06/12/president-obama-tragic-shooting-orlando) in response to the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 victims: --- > “” --- It’s hard not to make comparisons, to categorize. ISIS [claimed responsibility](http://time.com/4365507/orlando-shooting-isis-claims-responsibility-terror/) for the Orlando shooting; the San Bernardino shooters were [supporters](http://www.wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-claims-san-bernardino-massacre-couple-were-supporters-1449317122) of the terrorist group. The Orlando shooter used a semi-automatic rifle similar to the AR-15 one the Newtown shooter wielded. The Orlando shooter specifically targeted the LGBT community at a known [gay club](http://time.com/4365403/orlando-shooting-gay-bar-pulse-nightclub/); the Charleston shooter specifically targeted African Americans at the [Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church](http://time.com/time-magazine-charleston-shooting-cover-story/). For law enforcement, it makes sense to connect dots and learn lessons. For politicians, it makes sense to draw conclusions and inspire policy. But for all of us, as human beings witnessing such carnage? Observing so many tragedies could give us what psychologists call “compassion fatigue.” As Joan Cook [wrote for TIME](http://time.com/4133689/san-bernardino-shooting-compassion-fatigue/) following the shooting in San Bernardino last year: “Tuning in to these horrific atrocities so often, we have begun to tune out.” When we zoom out and over-analyze, we risk numbing ourselves to the reality of each new, nuanced tragedy. When we lump these shootings together in our minds, solving the problem of mass shootings in America begins to feel like an impossible task. Then, worse, an ignorable one. We must remember that each mass shooting is its own tragedy, with its own circumstances and its own [victims](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/orlando-massacre-names-gay-bar-shooting-victims-emerge-n590606). ### Scenes From the Tragic Aftermath of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting  Police officers direct family members away from a shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Phelan M. Ebenhack—AP  Police and forensics investigators work at the crime scene of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  Friends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Steve Nesius—Reuters  Police investigate the Pulse nightclub following a mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Tatiana Osorio cries while giving blood at the OneBlood blood center near the mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016\. Osorio lost three friends in the shooting. David Goldman—AP  A memorial honors the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A woman reacts as authorities investigate Pulse following a mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A reporter pauses at the Hampton Inn where relatives of victims gather for information in Orlando, Fla., on June, 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A remembrance for Eric Rivera, killed in the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub, sits amongst a makeshift memorial for the victims in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. David Goldman—AP  Mourners attend a makeshift vigil for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Hundreds of people gather at a memorial outside of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. John Taggart—EPA  A memorial honors victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  A mourner attends a makeshift vigil and a moment of silence for victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Reporters wait to interview relatives of victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 13, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  Seddique Mateen, father of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen, outside his home in Port Saint Lucie, Fla., on June 14, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden depart a makeshift memorial after placing flowers in memory of shooting victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., on June 16, 2016. Carlos Barria—Reuters  Mourners attend a makeshift vigil and a moment of silence for victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., on June 12, 2016. Christopher Morris—VII for TIME The senseless deaths of [12 moviegoers](http://www.aurorasentinel.com/news/aurora-tragedy-massacre-victims-and-conditions/) in a theater in Colorado. The senseless deaths of [26 children and adults](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324481204578181244231543014) in an elementary school in Connecticut. The senseless deaths of [nine churchgoers](http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2015/06/us/south-carolina-shooting-victims/) in a black church in South Carolina. The senseless deaths of [14 state employees](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-bernardino-shooting-victims-htmlstory.html) in a health center in California. The senseless deaths of [49 patrons](http://abcnews.go.com/US/orlando-nightclub-shooting-victims-named/story?id=39799005) in a gay nightclub in Florida. The senseless deaths of many more to come. The only thing that truly unites mass shootings is that each one should be too much to bear. **Correction:** The original version of this story incorrectly described the gun used in the Orlando shooting. 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