Texas Moms Demand Action, Everytown Respond to Fatal Shooting at North Lake College

North Lake College School Shooting is the 15th School Shooting in 2017; 223rd School Shooting Since 2013

DALLAS – The Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, responded to a shooting today at North Lake College in Irving. While details are still unfolding, initial reports indicate that a woman was shot and killed before the shooter fatally shot himself.

In 2015, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that forces Texas’ public colleges and universities to allow people to carry concealed handguns on campus. At some institutions guns are allowed in classrooms and dorms. That law is scheduled to take effect at community colleges, including North Lake College, in August.

According to Everytown research, this was at least the 15th school shooting nationwide in 2017, and the 223rd since January 2013. Everytown and Moms Demand Action have kept an index of school shootings in America since 2013 – recording anytime a firearm is discharged inside a school building or on a school campus or grounds.

A recent study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research reviewing evidence on public safety and the impact of guns on college campuses reveals that the behaviors and traits of college students makes the presence of guns on campus potentially dangerous. The study, quoting research from Harvard University, emphasized that students who had guns at college were more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as binge drinking and drunk driving, and were more likely to be threatened with a gun.

STATEMENT FROM AMANDA JOHNSON, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE TEXAS CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA WHOSE SISTER DIED BY SUICIDE WITH A GUN:

“Today’s shooting at North Lake College is the scenario every parent fears – and it should be a wake-up call to our Texas lawmakers that guns on campus do nothing to make our college and university communities safer. My thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family, but we must do more than pray when gun violence hits our state. Right now, in fact, our legislators are fighting to make our gun laws weaker by dismantling our License to Carry permitting system, which would make it easier for violent criminals to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public. One bill under consideration would even allow for the permitless carry of handguns on college campuses. While the details of what happened at North Lake College are still developing, research shows that adding guns into the volatile mix of college life makes our campuses more dangerous. Instead of pushing guns into every corner of our society, our lawmakers should fight to pass common-sense gun legislation that would help keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who should never have them and out of sensitive spaces. I sleep better at night because of the guns in my home, and as a responsible gun owner I recognize the fact that sensible gun laws keep us all safer. We all deserve to live in a society where our schools remain safe havens. The Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action will continue fighting against laws like permitless carry and in favor of laws that will make the Lone Star State safer from everyday gun violence.”