Louisiana Moms Respond to Second Line Parade Shooting in Which Seventeen Were Injured

Louisiana’s Gun Murder Rate Is 164% Higher Than The National Rate

NEW ORLEANS, LA – The Louisiana chapter of Moms Demand Acton for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement in response to a shooting at a block party in New Orleans in which several gunmen fired into a crowd of hundreds, injuring seventeen. The gathering was an after party at the Bunny Friend Park after an annual second line parade. Five of the victims were under the age of twenty, including a 10-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl. Three victims are in critical condition, one is “guarded condition,” and eight were treated and released.

STATEMENT FROM SARA CUSIMANO, A VOLUNTEER LEADER FOR THE LOUISIANA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION:

“Once again, our community has been rattled by a senseless act of gun violence and our hearts go out to the victims. While many of the victims will be able to return home to their families, I know from having survived my own shooting that their lives have been forever changed. We can and should take important steps to reduce gun violence, like closing the background check loophole that allows felons, domestic abusers, and people with dangerous mental illness to easily purchase guns with no questions asked. We cannot allow easy access to guns to harm our culture, our communities, and our way of life. Louisianans should not live in fear they can be killed or injured doing things all Americans should feel safe doing.”