Everytown Research Shows That More Than Half of the Women Killed with Guns in the U.S. are Killed by Their Partners
MADISON, Maine – The Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today responded to the fatal shooting of three people in Madison yesterday morning. According to reports, the shooter shot and killed his wife, Lori Hayden, their son, Dustin Tuttle, and Michael Spaulding – and a fourth, Harvey Austin, was injured. The shootings occurred at several different locations along Russell Road. According to the Maine State Police, Somerset County deputies confronted, and shot and killed the shooter. A spokesman for the the Maine Department of Public Safety characterized the shooting spree as “an extreme case of domestic violence.”
Research shows that more than half of women killed with guns in the U.S. are killed by their current or former partner. While this tragedy was not a mass shooting by the commonly used definition of four fatalities excluding the shooter, most mass shootings in America are related to domestic or family violence.
This is one of the deadliest shootings in Maine’s recent history.
STATEMENT FROM KATHLEEN MCFADDEN, VOLUNTEER CHAPTER LEAD WITH THE MAINE CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“I’m horrified and saddened by the news of yet another fatal shooting in Maine. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. While details are still unfolding, this tragic news reminds us that too many families have an empty chair at their table because of gun violence. It also reminds us that we can do more – because in states that require background checks on all handgun sales there are 47 percent fewer women shot to death by intimate partners. Mainers deserve better than this, and we must ensure that our lawmakers in Augusta and Washington, D.C., do more to reduce gun violence by domestic abusers in our state.”