Brady Statement on Coast to Coast Shootings from Brooklyn to Gilroy

Washington, D.C., July 29, 2019 — This weekend, communities from coast to coast were struck by the epidemic of gun violence, with a reported 3 dead and at least 12 injured at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California, 1 dead and 11 injured at a music festival in Brooklyn, and eight dead and 40 injured across the city of Chicago. The gun violence prevention organization Brady issued the following statement, expressing outrage at the numerous mass shootings across America and noting how the multifaceted nature of gun violence reached so many diverse communities over the course of just a few days.

Brady Vice President of Policy Christian Heyne stated,

“This weekend, we saw that no community is truly safe from gun violence. From a music festival in Brooklyn, to a food festival in Northern California, to a man waiting to pray at his synagogue in Miami, the epidemic of gun violence showed itself in horrifying fashion throughout the country. Americans have had enough, and we are demanding action from our leaders to keep our communities safe. This is a uniquely American problem, and we can do better. We deserve to be able to gather with our friends and family, to send our children to school, to pray in our houses of worship, and to simply step outside our homes without the fear of being shot. Today, we are left asking where we are safe from gun violence. Tomorrow, we must join together to bring this epidemic to an end.”

Throughout the past few days, a rash of major shootings has taken place across the country, including:

• Three people killed and a reported 12 injured at the Gilroy Garlic Festival outside San Jose, CA on Sunday night;
• One person killed and 11 injured during a neighborhood music festival in Brooklyn on Saturday night;
• Eight people killed and 40 injured in shootings throughout Chicago over the course of the weekend;
• Four people killed and two injured during a shooting rampage throughout the San Fernando Valley outside Los Angeles late last week; and
• A New York Police Department officer died by suicide this weekend, the fifth since June and all of which involved a firearm.