Washington, DC—Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Bryan K. Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills (MI), on today’s shooting in Milwaukee:

“Today we add Milwaukee to the long and rapidly growing list of America’s cities that have recently experienced mass shootings.  Today Milwaukee loses at least six residents who leave countless family members and friends to mourn their loss, and city leaders to search for words of comfort for them and for an entire community that will struggle to understand how and why something like this can happen so close to home.

“And today, as on so many days like this one over the past years, we stand with the first responders whose lives were on the line in bringing a deadly incident to an end.  And we stand with Mayor Tom Barrett, whose steady leadership will be needed by all in his city during the difficult days ahead.

“It’s ironic that this tragedy in Milwaukee occurred on the eve of the first anniversary of the House passage of the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019, just one of the many tools that our cities must have if we expect to push back against the loss of life to guns that we experience on a daily basis.  To mark this anniversary, tomorrow morning, all members of the Senate will receive from U.S. Conference of Mayors leaders a letter calling for an immediate vote on bipartisan background check legislation designed to keep guns out of the hands of those who could leave even more grieving families and friends in their wake.  The loss of so many lives in Milwaukee will be on the morning news when our letter arrives.”