News media across the United States report a rise in violent and deadly acts, with most purportedly related to the current economic crisis:

• April 7: In Temecula, Calif., investigators are trying to determine why a 72-year-old man opened fire at a remote Korean Christian retreat. Authorities said the shooter killed a woman and wounded three other people before some of his victims disarmed him during a struggle (Associated Press).
• April 4: After his wife said she was leaving him for another man, a 34-year-old father in Graham, Wash., killed his five children, ages 7 to 16, with a rifle, which he later used to kill himself.
• April 4: A 22-year-old gunman in Pittsburgh, Pa., fired upon police officers as they, responding to a domestic dispute call, entered his residence. Three officers died. Other law enforcement authorities returned fire, wounding the assailant in the leg. Negotiators later took the suspect into custody after talking him into surrendering. Wearing a bulletproof vest, the heavily armed gunman had in his possession an AK-47 assault rifle, a pistol and ammunition.
• April 3: In Binghamton, N.Y., a 41-year-old man stormed into the American Civic Association, fatally shooting 13 people and wounding four, before killing himself. ABC News reported that the killer mailed a rambling letter, postmarked the same day of the massacre, to Syracuse’s News 10 Now. In it, the author identified himself and admitted to the shootings, ending his handwritten message with “And you have a nice day.”
• March 29: A man fatally shot seven elderly patients, ages 78 to 98, along with a 39-year-old nurse, at the Pinelake Health and Rehabilitation Center in Carthage, N.C. According to the police search warrant released, the 45-year-old man said he “does not remember anything.” The confrontation ended when an officer on the scene shot and wounded the gunman.
• March 29: A 42-year-old Yahoo engineer shot and killed his two children and three other relatives during a family housewarming party in Santa Clara, Calif. He then killed himself. His wife, the lone survivor, remains in critical condition.
• March 22: In California, a parolee who had a warrant out for his arrest murdered two veteran Oakland Police Department officers during a routine traffic stop. The attacker then fled the scene by foot to a nearby apartment complex, leading to a massive manhunt. When a SWAT team entered the building, the gunman opened fire, killing two officers. Police returned fire, killing the 26-year-old gunman.
• March 10: Within a 24-mile crime scene, a disturbed man in Samson, Ala., fatally shot 10 people, including several relatives. Reportedly, the gunman later took his life by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.