North Dakota Moms Demand Action Responds to Fatal Shooting of Fargo Police Officer
2.12.2016
BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today responded to news that Fargo police officer Jason Moszer suffered fatal injuries after being shot during a standoff Wednesday evening when police responded to a domestic violence report.
STATEMENT FROM CATHY LEE, VOLUNTEER, NORTH DAKOTA CHAPTER, MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“North Dakota moms are heartbroken that a Fargo police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty yesterday, and our prayers go out to his family and the whole Fargo community. Although details are still unfolding, we know that there is a deadly relationship between domestic violence and guns. This tragedy cost a six-year police veteran his life. There is no one law that can prevent every tragedy, but there are common sense measures we can take to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. What happened in Fargo this week happens far too often in this country—our lawmakers in Bismarck and Congress must work towards stronger gun violence prevention laws.”
The shooter was likely prohibited from possessing firearms – according to a preliminary search of records, in 2012 he was convicted of disorderly conduct, during which, according to the media, he shoved his wife and son. Additionally, according to media, he was convicted of negligent homicide in 1988 after he shot and killed a teenager and shot and injured another man, and he spent five years in prison.
Last year, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Major Cities Chiefs Association released a report (available here) revealing that 52 percent of incidents in which police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty in 2013 were committed by people prohibited from buying or possessing guns. The analysis was based on the most recently available data from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) database and supplemented with media reports.
For more information about the link between domestic violence and guns, check out the fact sheet, linked here.