Washington, DC–Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors’ CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran on yesterday’s mass shooting in Raleigh, NC:
“Yesterday, we witnessed yet again the chilling impact of gun violence in our communities. America’s mayors stand with Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and the Raleigh Police Department, which lost one of their own in this tragic and unnecessary shooting. And we stand with the Raleigh community as it mourns those lost and begins the long process of recovery.
“As Mayor Baldwin said in a press conference last night, ‘we must stop this mindless violence in America; we must address gun violence. We have much to do and tonight we have much to mourn.’ These are the words that too many mayors have had to say after people in their cities were killed by guns.
“Separately Mayor Baldwin said: ‘I don’t want other mayors standing here at the podium with their hearts breaking because people in their community died.’ But this shooting came less than 24 hours after two police officers were killed and another seriously injured in Bristol, Connecticut, and there have been and will be countless other shootings in cities across the nation because of the sheer number of guns in circulation.
“This summer we made important progress with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but clearly, there is much left to do to reduce the horrific gun violence plaguing our nation. America’s mayors know the consequences of gun violence all too well and working together through the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors will continue to push for common sense gun safety legislation that can help make our cities and our nation safer.”