Colorado Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Respond After At Least Nine People Were Shot and Wounded in Downtown Denver

The Colorado chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement in response to a mass shooting in downtown Denver during a celebration for the Denver Nuggets after winning the NBA championship. Police report at least nine people have been shot, of which three are in critical condition, and the rest are believed to have non-life-threatening injuries. Officers took a suspect into custody who had also been shot.

“Yet again, Coloradans are dealing with the trauma of gun violence” said Christa Palmer, a volunteer with the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Our hearts are with the victims and their families. Sadly, gun violence is far too familiar for communities across our state. While lawmakers have taken critical measures to combat gun violence, there is still much more work to be done. We don’t have to live like this, and we will not stop fighting the gun violence epidemic.”

In an average year, 930 people die and 466 are wounded by guns in Colorado. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Colorado, and an average of 79 children and teens die by guns every year, of which 51% are suicides and 45% are homicides.

During the 2023 legislative session, Colorado lawmakers passed five gun violence prevention bills. The bills were introduced in response to a deadly year during 2022, a year that saw at least 647 mass shootings across the country, including multiple in Colorado – like in Aurora in last October and in Colorado Springs last November. The historic bills signed into law include:

• Legislation to strengthen Colorado’s Extreme Risk protection law;
• Legislation to help hold bad actors in the gun industry accountable for their role in the gun violence crisis;
• Legislation to raise the age requirement for firearm purchases to 21 years old; 
• Legislation to create a mandatory firearm purchase waiting period. 
• Legislation to address the threat of ghost guns — unserialized, untraceable homemade firearms, the building blocks of which can be obtained without a background check.

More information about gun violence in Colorado is available here.