Vivek Murthy made declaration after weekend in which dozens of Americans were killed or wounded in mass shootings

The US surgeon general on Tuesday declaredgun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country.

The advisory issued by Dr Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top doctor, came as the US grappled with another summer weekend marked by mass shootings that left dozens of people dead or wounded.

“People want to be able to walk through their neighborhoods and be safe,” Murthy told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “America should be a place where all of us can go to school, go to work, go to the supermarket, go to our house of worship, without having to worry that that’s going to put our life at risk.”