REX, Georgia — The Georgia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement after one Clayton County police officer and two others were shot and killed late Tuesday. Officials say police were responding to calls of a domestic disturbance when they received fire from an unknown location. Field Training Officer Henry Laxson was shot and killed, and according to Clayton County police Chief Kevin Roberts, a 12-year old boy and another officer were also wounded. The suspect, who investigators believe shot and killed two women at the scene, was killed in a shootout with other responding officers.
“As former law enforcement and the wife of an active duty Sheriff’s Deputy, my heart breaks for Officer Henry Laxson and all of those killed in this horrific incident,” said Courtney Spriggs, volunteer leader with the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Tragedies like this shouldn’t happen, but because of Georgia’s weak gun laws, we see them all too often. Our thoughts are with the families who will now be forced to spend the holidays with empty seats around the table.”
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Laxson was the third Georgia officer killed in the line of duty in the past month and the eighth in 2021. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Tuesday’s incident was the 88th of 89 officer-involved shootings the state agency has investigated this year.
Georgia does not prohibit abusers under restraining orders or with misdemeanor domestic abuse convictions from possessing firearms. In an average year, 1,603 people are killed by guns in Georgia and another 4,492 are wounded. Gun violence costs Georgia $12.0 billion each year, of which $581.3 million is paid by taxpayers. More information on Georgia gun violence can be found here.
