May 25, 2022—Yesterday, 21 people were fatally shot at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen of those killed were children, and two were teachers. The shooter, an 18-year old who attended high school nearby, also died. It was the deadliest school shooting since the massacre at Sandy Hook 10 years ago. Fenway Health CEO Ellen LaPointe offered the following statement in response:
“Gun violence is a persistent and urgent public health crisis in our country. Mass shootings like yesterday’s tragedy in Texas and last weekend’s racially-motivated shootings at a supermarket in Buffalo and a church in Orange County, California get the most attention. Between 40,000 and 45,000 people were killed in acts of gun violence in each of the last three years. Over half died by suicide, just over 40 percent were murdered, and the remainder died in accidental shootings.
Since the murders of 20 first graders and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, the only significant systems-wide policy change that has been enacted to reduce gun violence is teaching and practicing lockdown drills in schools, houses of worship, and businesses.
This is unconscionable.
As an organization that was conceived and built to serve oppressed communities and to support and advance the health and well-being of the people who count on us, Fenway Health condemns not just the acts of violence at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas yesterday, but the continued obstruction of meaningful policy reform by those with the power to enact it. We affirm our commitment to support public policy and public health efforts to address gun violence in our country.”