During the week that ended Aug. 16, more than 30 American children were killed or wounded in shootings across the United States, according to one gun violence archive.

Among the most recent tragedies was one in Akron, Ohio. There, Mikayla Pickett, 8, was hit by a bullet fired by one of four people who began shooting at a home where a teenager was having a birthday party. The little girl was rushed to a hospital, where she died.

We cannot recall a week this summer in which there was not at least one report of such violence. During the July 4 holiday weekend alone, six children were killed in shootings similar to that in Akron.

Gang violence — and that clearly is the reason for many of the shootings — has gotten out of control in many cities.

New gun control laws will not stop the violence. The trigger-happy gangsters already have firearms. If they need more, they will get them.

What America needs is a renewed commitment to policing. Which means giving police the staff, funding and equipment they need to crack down on violent crime. Instead, the police are under political attack for the actions of small fraction of their ranks. We are also in need of a cultural shift away from mindless violence to one that reinforces family, education, values and working one’s way to prosperity.