Washington, DC – Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors’ CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran on today’s mass shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis that left at least two dead and several others wounded:
“Our hearts break at the news of yet another shooting at yet another school that unleashes pain for yet another American community. We are once again left to make sense of the senseless. Our children should not be expected to live with this kind of terror and left to grapple with the lifelong trauma that can result from it.
“The nation’s mayors stand with Mayor Tishaura Jones, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the St. Louis community as they mourn those lost, aid those injured, and comfort the family and friends of the victims.
“This summer, our country made important progress with the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but clearly, there is much more that must be done if we are to reduce the horrific gun violence plaguing our nation. Right now, bipartisan gun safety legislation that could mitigate such tragedies remains stalled in the Senate. Through the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors, the nation’s mayors call on the Senate to take up this legislation as soon as possible and pass it this year. We owe it to our children, who are looking to us to do something. How many more times can we look into their eyes and tell them that our nation’s elected leaders don’t have the courage to protect them?”