Washington, DC
Massachusetts Congressman Richard Neal released a statement Monday on the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. At least 50 were killed and 53 others were injured.
Below is the Congressman’s entire statement:
“I am outraged by the senseless bloodshed that took place in Orlando, Florida yesterday (Sunday) by a lone gunman who killed and injured more than 100 people in the deadliest mass shooting in our nation’s history. It was an act of domestic terrorism, a hate crime, and an assault on the values, principles and beliefs of the American family.
For those of us who call western Massachusetts home, it is particularly personal because 2 young people from our region lost their lives in the massacre at Pulse nightclub. And for our friends in the LGBT and Latino communities, it is a tragedy of unprecedented proportions.
Once again, a deeply disturbed individual with an assault rifle killed and injured innocent people in an act of violence that is becoming far too common in the United States today.
Since 20 children lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut 4 years ago, there have been more than 1,000 mass shootings in our country, and the number of gun deaths is approaching 100,000. And now a heartbroken nation is struggling to make sense of the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.
In my opinion, the United States cannot afford more startling headlines from places Newtown, Orlando, San Bernardino or Charleston. Americans need to feel safe at school, church, work and social events. And a good place to start is by reducing the level of gun violence that now plagues every corner of America. I believe we owe that to the memory of Stanley Manolo Almodovar III and KJ Morris. And it is what our country urgently needs to begin the healing process.”
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