Mass Shooting in Dorchester Neighborhood Wounds Five; Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Call for Urgent Action on Gun Safety 

BOSTON – Everytown for Gun Safety and its grassroots network, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statements in response to a mass shooting in the Dorchester neighborhood on Wednesday night that wounded five people, including an 11-year old child. While investigations are still ongoing, reports indicate that an unidentified person fired into a group of people who were gathered outside to celebrate birthdays. 

“Just days after a particularly deadly weekend for gun violence in America, we’re heartbroken to see this tragedy take place in our community,” said Donna Stevenson, a volunteer with the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action and a gun violence survivor. “Yesterday’s shooting is yet another tragic example of how nobody is free from the crisis of gun violence: at the supermarket, at school, or in their front yard. Our lawmakers have the ability to fight against this epidemic by passing legislation that will strengthen our gun safety laws – it’s long overdue that they do so. Our communities are counting on it.” 

“Yesterday was yet another day in America where a young person was the victim of unnecessary gun violence. Why can’t we be safe anywhere?” said Grace Field, a volunteer with the Boston University Students Demand Action chapter. “My generation knows that a safer future is possible and we need our lawmakers to work together and make it happen.” 

Massachusetts House and Senate lawmakers are currently negotiating an omnibus firearms bill in a conference committee that aims to further strengthen the state’s gun safety laws, and gun safety advocates are urging them to pass it before the end of legislative session on July 31st. 

Earlier this year, Senate lawmakers introduced S.2572, which has provisions such as the expansion of Extreme Risk Protection Orders to include healthcare providers. The bill also includes prohibitions on ghost guns, Glock switches, carrying firearms in some government administrative buildings, firearm marketing to minors, and more. House Democrats passed their own bill (H.4135) at the end of last year, which included many of the same provisions meant to address emerging threats to gun safety. The House bill would also increase training requirements for those seeking a License to Carry and expand the prohibition on guns in sensitive places to include schools, polling places, bars, and daycares in response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, that impacted the potential enforcement of several Massachusetts gun laws. 

In an average year in Massachusetts, 257 people die by guns and 648 people are wounded. Gun violence costs Massachusetts $3.5 billion each year, of which $85.4 million is paid by taxpayers. More information on gun violence in Massachusetts is available here.