MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety grassroots networks, issued the following statement in response to a shooting on Sunday along East Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis’ Ventura Village neighborhood. According to reports, a gunman opened fire and shot and wounded eight people – six of the victims were teenagers, ages 15-18, and the other two people hurt were a man and a woman in their 40s. No fatalities were reported.
“Our children deserve to grow in a country with the opportunity to live and thrive without fear of being gunned down,” said Leah Kondes, a volunteer with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States – a statistic that should be unacceptable . We can’t accept this as our normal – we must continue to push forward policies that break the cycles of gun violence and eradicate this public health crisis.”
Last week, new details emerged about a shooting from earlier this month where an unknown man and a companion entered a local venue, whose attendees that night were primarily members of the queer community, and began firing a gun into the crowd, where they shot and killed local artist, August Golden and shot and wounded six others. Witnesses said the shooting came shortly after an anti-queer confrontation.
In an average year, 497 people die and 811 are wounded by guns in Minnesota. An average of 43 children and teens die by guns every year, of which 49% of these deaths are suicides and 45% are homicides. Gun violence in Minnesota costs $1,174 per person each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost Minnesota $6.6 billion each year, of which $105.5 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Minnesota is available here.
