美国国家公共电台 NPR--Highland Park mayor tries to comfort her community after a gunman killed 6 people

Highland¹ Park mayor tries to comfort her community after a gunman killed 6 people

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Nancy Rotering, the mayor of Highland Park, Ill., about the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in which six people died. Police say a person of interest is in custody³.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Nancy Rotering is the mayor of Highland Park, Ill., and she joins us now. Mayor, thank you for being with us. And I just want to start by saying I'm so sorry for what's happened to your community.

NANCY ROTERING: Thank you so much.

FADEL: How is your city doing?

ROTERING: We are in shock, and we are in mourning. This is a hometown where several generations come together regularly to celebrate. And on a day that was supposed to be filled with joy, we are still reeling from the carnage.

FADEL: Have investigators⁴ told you any more about how the shooter got on to that roof and how he eluded⁵ them for so many hours?

ROTERING: He climbed up a ladder that was accessible on the exterior⁶ of the building. And in terms of how he eluded them for several hours, I think he was driving all over the place - is my understanding. So I think they were able to get to him at some point with the unbelievable collaboration⁷ of several agencies, municipal police departments, the FBI, ATF, the Illinois State Police. It was an unbelievable partnership⁸ across all these agencies that brought him in.

FADEL: Is the person in custody the suspected shooter or still a person of interest?

ROTERING: He is the suspected shooter. And I believe charges will be levied⁹ later today.

FADEL: And, you know, you talked about how this was supposed to be a day of celebration. And celebrations like these days are secured. There's lots of security, police. And I understand that was the situation in your city yesterday, and yet this still happened. What does that say about police presence, more security, the idea of good guys with guns stopping bad guys with guns?

ROTERING: There's no way a good guy with a gun could have stopped the firepower of this weapon that was used by the shooter. He was on a rooftop. Anybody who had a concealed¹⁰ carry would have had no impact on him whatsoever¹¹. It's one of those things where I feel like we need to have a conversation as a nation about why we continue to allow these weapons of war to be on our streets. This was a gun that was obtained legally. We know that in so many of these mass shootings that are now becoming weekly events that the guns are being obtained legally. That should tell all of us that the laws aren't doing their job if people can't go out to enjoy a Fourth of July parade with their grandparents without fear. We don't need to become a nation that is so militarized that we can't enjoy the freedoms that people fought for 246 years ago.

FADEL: You know, as mayor, you pushed for and helped pass one of the nation's only local bans on assault weapons. And that was in 2013. And you said the shooter got this high-powered rifle legally. So what needs to be done nationally?

ROTERING: Nationally, we need a collaboration across our states, across our municipalities. We've seen other laws come into play that at first weren't popular, that were, you know, challenged and derived¹² from municipalities taking a stance of passing policies that reflect their own values. That's what we did in 2013. I've been contacted by several cities across the country who are interested in our assault weapons and large-capacity magazine ban. It's one of those things where you can take a step, but there needs to be a joint¹³ effort by this nation to recognize, obviously, people are going to travel. People are going to flout¹⁴ the laws. This obviously was in breach¹⁵ of our own law.

But let's talk about the fact that these shootings are such a regular occurrence that something else needs to be done. We did what we could. We did what we could within the confines of current, existing law. We need our nation's leaders to take necessary steps to prevent further carnage in people's hometowns.

FADEL: Just to clarify, you said it was a breach of your local law, but he did acquire the weapon legally?

ROTERING: Correct. So he's not a resident of Highland Park, and he somehow was able to obtain this gun. The fact that he was in our town with it was the breach of our ordinance¹⁶. But we know that throughout Illinois and Wisconsin and Indiana, neighboring states and so forth¹⁷, there are far different laws. And he was able to obtain it in that manner.

FADEL: You mentioned how unfortunately common events like this are. And many mayors around the country get training in case there is a mass casualty event like the one that your city just went through. Did you train for this, and did it make you feel prepared when it actually happened?

ROTERING: I don't think anybody can train for this. I am a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and attended several sessions on what to do when a mass shooting comes to your town. Let's just pause for a moment and think about the fact that the U.S. Conference of Mayors even needs to have a seminar on what to do when a mass shooting comes to your town. So you can do all the reading. You can do all the theorizing. When it comes to your own front yard, there is nothing to prepare you. There's nothing to prepare anybody, no matter how much training, to help a community now as we start on our first day of healing from what should have never happened.

FADEL: The mayor of Highland Park, Ill., Nancy Rotering, thank you so much for taking the time this morning. And I'm so sorry.

1 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 eluded   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• The sly fox nimbly eluded the dogs. 那只狡猾的狐狸灵活地躲避开那群狗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The criminal eluded the police. 那个罪犯甩掉了警察的追捕。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

7 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

10 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

11 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

12 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 flout   

v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视

参考例句：

• Parents who flout Family Court orders may be named in the media in Australia.在澳洲父母亲若是藐视家庭法庭的裁定可能在媒体上被公布姓名。
• The foolish boy flouted his mother's advice.这个愚蠢的孩子轻视他母亲的劝告。

15 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

16 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。