Initial Reports Indicate at Least Four People Were Shot and Killed, at Least Five People Wounded
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Everytown for Gun Safety and the Kansas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statements today on reports that at least four people were shot and killed and five people wounded in a mass shooting at a bar in downtown Kansas City, Kansas.
“We are heartbroken to wake up to the news of another shooting in our city,” said Dottie Lovell, a Kansas City volunteer with the Kansas Chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “What’s happened overnight is shameful, and our hearts are with the families affected. Today we pray for the families, but when our lawmakers in Washington head back to work, they need to take immediate action.”
“The news out of Kansas City is tragic and while we wait for details, the urgency for the President and Senate Majority Leader McConnell to act immediately has never been clearer,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “It is a stark reminder that our elected officials have provided excuse after excuse for their inaction, and that their decisions have a body count.”
“Americans are sick and tired of this,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We should all be free to visit a bar in the evening and make it home, but once again, gun violence is ripping apart lives one bullet at a time. What will it take for Washington to get the message?”
In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to require background checks on all gun sales. To date, the majority in the U.S. Senate has refused to hold a vote on that legislation. Red flag bills have been introduced by bipartisan members of Congress in both the U.S. House and Senate. In September, the House Judiciary Committee advanced several pieces of gun safety legislation, including a bipartisan red flag bill.