Washington, DC—Below is a statement by Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, on the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, CA:
“Less than 48 hours after 11 people were killed and nine more injured in Monterey Park, we must try again to make sense of the absolute senseless. Another tragedy has hit another American city, shattering lives and leaving us to ask: what has America become? Is this the story – one of horrific, unnecessary violence – that we want to continue to tell?
“The nation’s mayors send their condolences to the victims’ families and stand with Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose as she works to comfort residents and help her community to heal.
“Mayor Penrose asked this morning: ‘When are we going to stop?… When are we going to ban semiautomatic weapons? How many people have to die? How many people have to be killed? How many children have to witness their parents being killed?’ Mayors across the country are asking these same questions.
“The United States has already experienced 39 mass shootings in 2023 and it’s only January. Just yesterday, California Senator Dianne Feinstein and others reintroduced a federal Assault Weapons Ban and legislation that would raise the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21. Mayors call on Congress to listen to Mayor Penrose and to all mayors and to pass these bills right away.”