Recent Everytown and Major Cities Chiefs Research Found that 52 Percent of Law Enforcement Homicides Are Committed by People Prohibited from Having Guns
Everytown Research (And Visuals) on Gun Violence by the Numbers Available Here
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today responded to reports that two police officers were shot and injured – one in the cheek and one in the calf – early this morning in Manchester. While details are still emerging, the officers are expected to recover.
STATEMENT FROM KATIE DESROCHERS, A MANCHESTER RESIDENT AND VOLUNTEER WITH THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION:
“Today, two Manchester police officers were shot and injured while doing their jobs, and we hope both of them will make a speedy and full recovery. While we do not know all the details about what happened, we know that a dangerous person with a gun was on the streets in Manchester. Every day in America, 91 people die from gun violence and hundreds more are injured – and law enforcement officers in particular face unique dangers because of our country’s weak gun laws. While there is no one law that can prevent every tragedy, there are common-sense measures we can take to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. What happened in Manchester today happens far too often in this country—our lawmakers in Concord and Congress must work towards stronger gun violence prevention laws.”
Last year, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Major Cities Chiefs Association released a report (available here) revealing that 52 percent of incidents in which police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty in 2013 were committed by people prohibited from buying or possessing guns. And in states that require background checks for unlicensed sales of handguns, police are 48 percent less likely to be killed with handguns. The analysis was based on the most recently available data from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) database and supplemented with media reports.
