US Gun Violence: Latest shootings revive arms control debate

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02:17

We begin in the US, where two deadly school shootings have shocked the nation, and roused fervent gun control debates yet again. Natalie Pang has more.

On Friday night in the US state of Georgia, 3 people were shot, one fatally, at a high school. This happened during a graduation ceremony at Mount Zion High School in Jonesboro, a city about 24 kilometers south of Atlanta.

This came just hours after 10 people were killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas. The gunman was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old junior from the same school. He is being held on capital murder charges, meaning he could face the death penalty.

Students at the high school described their ordeal.

DAMON RABON WITNESS, SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL "My teacher Mr. West actually exited the classroom and went into the hallway and I was peeking around the door to see what was going on, and he came running back and said that it was a school shooter. At this time, we've heard probably four or five shots. And so the school shooter came out and he saw him."

ABEL SAN MIGUEL WITNESS, SANTA FE HIGH SCHOOL "We stayed in there because we knew he probably wouldn't go back in there because he just shot someone and then we moved our blockade more towards the door. And then he came back because I think he heard us and then he started shooting and that's when I got hit. Just a graze in the back of shoulder."

A candlelight vigil was held in Texas as the community sought to cope with the tragedy.

SENATOR TED CRUZ TEXAS, US "For any parent, your ultimate nightmare, there is nothing more terrifying than to have your daughter or your son go to school in the morning and never come home."

Investigators have offered no immediate motive for the shootings yet. Friday's incidents are the latest in a series of deadly shootings at American schools. There is no doubt the shootings have revived the perennial hot-button issue of arms control in the United States. However, it is still not known how heavy a price the country will pay before anything is done.