Everytown, Tennessee Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond to Shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School

The Tennessee chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement after a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. The Knoxville Police Department indicated that there were multiple gunshot victims, including a KPD officer. 

“We shouldn’t have to go to school worrying about getting shot,” said Yoonie Yang, a volunteer with Students Demand Action at Signal Mountain Middle-High School and a member of the Students Demand Action National Advisory Board. “But we live in the only country in the world that has accepted school shootings as an inescapable reality, and we live in a state with lawmakers working to further weaken our gun laws – so we have to worry about it. Our hearts are with all those impacted by this devastating shooting. We need more than thoughts and prayers from our lawmakers – we need action.”

On Thursday, Governor Bill Lee signed permitless carry into law, allowing people to carry loaded handguns in public without a background check or any safety training. In an average year, 1,193 people die by guns in Tennessee, including 111 children and teens, and another 2,220 people are wounded. More on gun violence in Tennessee is available through EveryStat here.