Six Law Enforcement Officers Have Been Shot in the Line of Duty in Ohio in 2017; Five Were Shot in the State in All of 2016
More Officers Have Been Shot in Ohio This Year than in Any Other State
KIRKERSVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement in response to a shooting in Kirkersville on Friday morning that killed police chief Steven Eric Disario and two other people. Authorities are still investigating the shootings, but early reports suggest the shooter ambushed the police chief, then walked into a nursing home and fatally shot two other people before taking his own life.
Disario was the 15th law enforcement officer fatally shot in the line of duty in 2017. Fifty-seven other officers have been injured.
Research has shown that 53 percent fewer law enforcement officers are fatally shot in the line of duty in states that require background checks on all handgun sales – which Ohio does not.
Across the country, more than 90 people are killed each day with guns and hundreds more are injured, on average.
STATEMENT FROM MAUREEN WASHOCK, VOLUNTEER CHAPTER LEADER WITH THE OHIO CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“It’s unacceptable that another member of Ohio law enforcement has been killed in the line of duty, along with two other souls who were doing nothing wrong. Today’s shooting should be an urgent wake-up call that we have to do more as a state to protect our law enforcement officers and all Ohioans. More than 90 Americans are killed every day with guns, and hundreds more are injured, and today is a tragic reminder that we have to do more to address this crisis. My thoughts are with each of the victims and their families.”