The New York chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, the grassroots networks of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement after two U.S. Marshals were wounded in a shooting in the Bronx early Friday morning that left the shooter dead. The shooter was being pursued after wounding a Massachusetts State Police trooper in a shooting last week.
“Like so many other shootings, this one has left family, friends, and communities across state lines traumatized,” said June Rubin, a volunteer with New York Moms Demand Action. “We will continue to see civilians and members of law enforcement hurt if people who shouldn’t have guns are able to threaten public safety. It’s on all of us to fight for stronger gun laws that will keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”
New York has experienced a deadly year for gun violence in 2020, especially in New York City, Rochester and Syracuse, which have all seen drastic increases in gun homicides. Black people are 16 times as likely as white people to die by gun homicide in the state of New York. Read more about gun violence in New York and how COVID-19 has exacerbated the root causes of violence here.