Statement from PAGV Co-chairs, Darcel D. Clark and Joyce Dudley

Community Contributions are published as a courtesy. They can be provided by organizations or individuals but must meet accuracy standards. Community Contribution provided by Prosecutors Against Gun Violence.

Community Contributor:

Our office is a longstanding member of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence (PAGV), a non-partisan group of leading prosecutors from around the country who are focused on gun violence prevention strategies ranging from policy advocacy to improved enforcement of existing laws. We stand united in response to the horrific attacks in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York and join in these statements.

Statement from PAGV Co-Chairs on Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas:

By Darcel D. Clark and Joyce Dudley,

“Once again, as a nation, we mourn the massacre of children in a school. Again, the mass shooter is an 18-year-old who walked into a store and legally purchased two assault-style rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, which he unleashed yesterday within a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and 2 teachers while wounding at least 15 others.

Authorities have not given a motive yet, but whatever the reason for the gunman’s horrific actions, the issue remains that assault weapons and high-capacity magazines enabled someone to kill and maim many human beings within minutes, even seconds. These instruments of death must be banned from anyone other than the military or law enforcement. We must act now to end the carnage in classrooms, supermarkets, movie theaters, and anywhere else in America. There are not enough prayers or words to console the families, fellow students and teachers. Right now, we need more than words, we need action.”

Statement from PAGV Co-Chairs on Buffalo Mass Shooting:

“The atrocity in Buffalo that took ten lives and wounded three others is as infuriating as it is heartbreaking. The world feels pain for the families that lost their loved ones and we pray to heal the survivors in Buffalo.

This tragedy combines the absurdity that a person too young to buy cigarettes can legally purchase an assault rifle; lax background checks that allowed a person with documented mental health problems to have such a weapon; and worst of all, the racist hatred stoked online by media that incites such violence.

The 18-year-old shooter ascribed to “replacement theory,” the fear that the white population in our nation is being supplanted by people of color.

He choose the particular area in Buffalo due to its black population and allegedly slaughtered them because of their race.

He was referred for mental health counseling less than a year ago when he made threats in his high school to shoot fellow students. His parents knew that he recently purchased three weapons, and they were aware that he previously purchased the tactical gear worn yesterday.

We must regulate guns and prohibit assault weapons from being sold to the general public without proper background checks that include mental health.

It is more urgent than ever since mass shootings are increasingly stemming from racial hatred, an abomination that is sadly become too common in this country.”