“The shots sounded like this was a military base here on the corner.”
This was how one bystander recounted witnessing the mass shooting which took the lives of 5 people, including a 15-year-old, in Southwest Philadelphia this past Monday.1
Carrying an AR-15-style assault rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest and a ski mask, a gunman opened fire on a neighborhood block.2
It was the deadliest mass shooting in Philadelphia in over two decades. It was America's 29th mass killing and Pennsylvania's 19th mass shooting this year.
We cannot let this violence become the norm. Weapons of war do not belong in our communities.
In the wake of the shooting, city councilmember Jamie Gauthier – who represents the Kingsessing neighborhood where the massacre occurred – said: “It creates a situation where mostly Black and Brown people can’t be in their neighborhood enjoying summer weather. Kids — anyone — enjoying their block should not live in fear of being shot and killed.”4
Pennsylvanians deserve to feel safe in our communities. We need our lawmakers to take action and keep assault weapons off of our streets. Please take a moment to urge your lawmakers to support life-saving legislation to finally ban assault weapons in Pennsylvania.
