Maine Moms Demand Action Statement in Response to Bath Supermarket Parking Lot Shooting in which a Woman Was Shot in the Head

BATH, Maine – Maine Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense today released the following statement responding to the news that 22-year-old Chelsea Jones was unintentionally shot in the head in the parking lot of a Shaw’s supermarket in Bath by her boyfriend. According to news reports, the boyfriend was attempting to sell a handgun to a prospective buyer in the supermarket parking lot when he shot Jones while she waited in a car nearby. Jones remains hospitalized and there are no reports on her condition.

Details are still developing, but the incident sheds light on how unlicensed gun sales are conducted in Maine and across the country. These sales often involve strangers meeting in public places to transfer a weapon, no questions asked. Across the country each year, millions of guns are sold in such unlicensed sales, with no background check required.

STATEMENT FROM DALLAS DENERY, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE MAINE CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE:

“My thoughts are with Chelsea Jones and her family today. Maine has a long tradition of responsible gun ownership, but the sad truth is that unlicensed gun sales are all too common in Maine and elsewhere. There is a flourishing, unregulated market for unlicensed gun sales that take place in supermarket parking lots, near places kids play – virtually anywhere. As a dad and a member of the Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action, I believe we must do more to keep guns out of dangerous hands and we will work tirelessly to keep our Maine communities safer from gun violence.”