Connecticut Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond to Shooting of Three Bristol Police Officers

The Connecticut chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statement following the shooting of three Bristol police officers on Wednesday night. According to reports, the three officers were responding to what they thought was a domestic violence emergency call when they were ambushed and shot with an AR-15 style rifle. According to Bristol police chief Brian Gould, Sergeant Dustin DeMonte and officer Alex Hamzy were killed in the shooting, and officer Alec Iurato was hospitalized with a gunshot wound.

“We’re heartbroken for the officers and families impacted by this senseless act of violence,” said Alissa Dumont, a volunteer with the Connecticut chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, and they shouldn’t have to worry about being shot on the job.”

According to FBI data, 49 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the first nine months of 2022, 41 of them with firearms. And according to a report released this summer by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the number of officers killed by gun deaths in the first six months of 2022 increased by nearly 20% compared to 2021.

In an average year, 191 people die by guns in Connecticut and 308 more are wounded. Gun violence costs Connecticut $2.6 billion each year, of which $57.1 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Connecticut is available here.