Sandy Hook Promise Statement on Three Mass Shootings at Youth-Related Events in Indiana, Mississippi, and Georgia

NEWTOWN, Conn. – Three mass shootings took place at youth-related events in several states over the weekend, taking the lives of five people and injuring nearly 25 others. Each of these separate incidents occurred at gatherings of young people that should have been safe and happy events, but instead became tragedies of gun violence.  

In Indiana, one person was killed and 10 others were injured at a high-school-aged party after one or more individuals began shooting. In Mississippi, during an event following a homecoming football game victory where several hundred people were gathered, three people were killed and eight others were injured when shooting erupted following a fight. And, in Georgia, one person was killed and approximately six others were injured after a shooting took place following homecoming celebrations at Albany State University.

These are just three of the many instances of gun violence that took place over the weekend, with the Gun Violence Archive reporting as many as 66 victims killed and another 192 wounded by guns throughout the U.S. in just in the last 72 hours.  

In response, Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, issued the following statement:  

“The moment when we hug our teen goodbye as they head out to visit a friend or attend a fun activity should never become the last memory a parent has of seeing their child alive and safe. But it’s a grim reality for many families throughout our nation, who are forced to endure these unimaginable, yet preventable, tragedies. My heart is with them. No family should ever have to know the pain of a young person’s life taken by senseless gun violence.”  

“Gun violence steals away the opportunity for teens to just be teens. When you can’t attend a party or a post-football celebration without the threat of being shot, you no longer have the freedom to have a normal adolescence. That’s the world our teens live in every day, but it doesn’t have to be this way.”  

“When we collectively focus our efforts on upstream violence prevention – which includes training in empathy and pathways for peaceful conflict resolution – we can show our young people there is a better way forward. There is hope for a future without the daily threat of being shot. This public health epidemic is preventable. We can and must work together to create a safer future for all youth.”  

To learn more about how you can bring proven violence prevention programs to your school or community, visit SandyHookPromise.org.

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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: 

Nick Dmitrovich | [email protected] | 203-304-9780 Ext. 279