For Release: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Washington, DC — Following the mass shooting today at the Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose, California, Violence Policy Center (VPC) Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement:
Every American has become an unwilling participant in a lethal lottery that randomly kills innocent people who are simply going about their daily lives. The only things that change are the location, number of innocent victims killed, and the families, friends, and co-workers forever traumatized. Yet as this carnage continues unabated, the gun industry marches on — designing, manufacturing, and marketing increasingly lethal weapons. America is being held hostage by the firearms industry. Until gunmakers are held fully accountable for the direct role they play in these massacres, communities across the nation will continue to live in fear of the next horrendous attack.
For a listing of examples of mass shootings in the United States since 1980 involving large-capacity ammunition magazines, please see https://vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf.
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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter and Facebook.
