BALTIMORE – The Maryland chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statement after three students were shot and wounded outside Carver Vo-Tech High School in Baltimore just as classes were getting underway. This incident comes as shootings have been reported just after the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine and as campuses across Maryland continue to experience gun violence. Earlier this month gunfire erupted at Morgan State University during the school’s homecoming celebrations.
“Our precious children deserve to grow and learn in a peaceful and safe environment without the constant fear of gun violence,” said Chaplain Denise Reid, a survivor of gun violence whose grandson attends virtually Carver Vo-Tech High School and a volunteer with the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action.“My grandson could’ve been gunned down this morning but he attends school virtually because he doesn’t feel safe. This is a uniquely American problem and we must do more to protect our children. Now, more than ever we look forward to working with lawmakers to find common-sense solutions that protect Maryland’s children and families from senseless acts of gun violence.”
“There aren’t words to accurately describe just how exhausted and traumatized my generation is from being forced to grow up in the unrelenting face of gun violence,” said Denise White Scott, a volunteer leader with Morgan State University chapter of Students Demand Action. “There is nothing normal about going to school and getting shot, but over and over again, politicians have made us think that guns on school grounds is somehow an inevitability. It’s not. It’s the easy access to guns that are killing and traumatizing an entire generation of young Americans. We deserve better than this.”
In an average year in Maryland, 796 people die by guns and 1,363 people are wounded. Gun violence costs Maryland $10.5 billion each year. Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Maryland. More information on gun violence in Maryland is available here.
