Tourists warned to avoid visiting US due to rising gun crime: Scholar

SYDNEY - Several countries have issued travel warnings to the United States over gun violence, a scholar has said.

The year 2023 is on track to be the worst in recent history for mass shootings in the United States, said Ross Bennett-Cook, a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, in an article published by the media network The Conversation on Saturday.

"Some commentators are questioning whether security fears surrounding gun violence and mass shootings could keep international fans away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles," he wrote.

The scholar noted that Uruguay has suggested its citizens avoid certain cities, including Detroit and Baltimore, while Canada advised its citizens to familiarize themselves with how to respond to an active shooter before visiting.

"No other developed nation has mass shootings at the same scale or frequency as the United States. Estimates suggest that Americans own 393 million of the 857 million civilian guns available, around 46 percent of the world's civilian gun ownership," he warned. - XINHUA