The Colorado chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statements after a mass shooting in Boulder at a grocery store in which ten people were shot and killed, including one police officer. Details are still developing.“
Today’s shooting in Boulder is absolutely heartbreaking,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “This is yet another in a long string of horrific tragedies, from Boulder today to Atlanta last week to the dozens more people in the United States who are shot every day, but whose stories do not make the headlines. To save lives and end these senseless killings, we need more than thoughts and prayers –– we need federal action on gun safety from the Senate and the administration, and we need it now.”
“I called Boulder home for many years and sent my son to high school there. My heart is with all those in the community devastated by this senseless shooting,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We can’t and won’t accept gun violence in our supermarkets to spas to our homes, as just another fact of life. It’s past time for our leaders to act and protect us from gun violence.”
“My heart is broken for my fellow Boulder community members as we learn more about the shooting today,” said Nicole LiaBraaten, a volunteer with Colorado Moms Demand Action. “This is yet another painful reminder of our nation’s urgent gun violence crisis. We should not have to fear for our lives doing something as simple as going to the grocery store. We must work to strengthen our gun laws and protect our communities from tragedies like this.”
This shooting comes less than a week after a series of shootings in massage parlors around metro Atlanta, in which nine people were shot, eight fatally. Six of the eight killed were Asian women, and while the motivation of the shooter has yet to be determined, the shootings occurred in the context of a rising tide of violence against the Asian and Pacific Islander community.
Research by Everytown for Gun Safety shows that this is at least the 246th mass shooting since January 2009. Every day in the U.S. on average, more than 100 people are killed with guns, and more than 230 are wounded – the majority of which do not take place during mass shootings.
In an average year, 805 people die by gun violence in Colorado and 360 more are wounded. More information about gun violence in Colorado is available here.