NEWTOWN, Conn. — Today, three students and three adults were killed during a shooting at Covenant School, a small, private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn. serving preK-6th grade children. It is the latest in the growing number of school shootings and increasing gun violence in the U.S. There were 46 school shootings in 2022, more than in any year since Columbine (1999). According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have already been more than 12 deaths and 128 injuries due to mass shootings in 2023.
In response to today’s shooting, Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, issued the following statement:
“Our hearts are heavy for the families and friends of the victims of this latest school shooting at Covenant School. Once again, parents are living the nightmare of sending their children to school never to have them come home. I know that horror and that grief – it never ends. Another community, and our country along with them, has been traumatized by gun violence. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for young people under the age of 19.
“Each school shooting touches every community across the country and strikes fear into the hearts of parents and children, wondering if they might be next. When will we finally address this epidemic of violence and take action? Undisputed evidence shows that gun violence is preventable, yet instead of using the solutions available to us like Secure Storage, Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Magazine Limits and teaching how to Know the Signs, we move into debate, rhetoric and saying “now isn’t the time”. For the children and adults killed today, in Nashville and in cities across the country, the time is over and we are too late. Our national trauma, anger, and fear must embolden our resolve to take action to end these violent acts. We must reject the notion that gun violence is inevitable – it is preventable – but we must be courageous and take action.
“My heart has broken so many times in the last 10 years – there is nothing but tattered remains. And every day, there are more people like me. As my heart dies, my anger grows at cowards and profiteers who stand in the way of protecting children from gun violence. We all can, and must, do more.”
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Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) envisions a future where all children are free from school shootings and other acts of violence. As a national nonprofit organization, SHP’s mission is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Creators of the life-saving, evidence-informed “Know the Signs” prevention programs, SHP teaches the warning signs of someone who may be in crisis, socially isolated, or at-risk of hurting themselves or others and how to get help. SHP also advances school safety, youth mental health, and responsible gun ownership at the state and federal levels through nonpartisan policy and partnerships. SHP is led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
Media Contact:
Loretta Kane | [email protected] | 917-410-7242