Washington, DC—Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors President Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer on the mass shooting in Colorado Springs:

“Today, we are once again left searching for the words to describe our grief in the face of another mass shooting, which took the lives of six people in Colorado Springs who had gathered with family and friends for a birthday celebration. This unspeakable and senseless act of violence comes on the heels of other shootings across the country this weekend, including New York City, Baltimore County and Aventura, Florida.

“We cannot allow these horrific events to continue. As mayors, our top priority is to ensure public safety and protecting our residents from gun violence is at the very heart of this commitment. But we cannot do it alone. We need our federal partners in Congress to take decisive action now. So, again, we call on the Senate to quickly consider and pass critical legislation already adopted by the House that would greatly strengthen the nation’s background check system.

“We offer our condolences to all those impacted this weekend, and we stand with these communities as they begin the very difficult healing process in the days ahead.”