Maryland Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Respond to Tragic Shooting on a Germantown Basketball Court

The Maryland chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement today responding to a shooting in Germantown, Maryland, that killed one person and left three others wounded. Reports indicate that the shooting occurred in the evening on Wednesday, August 18, when a 14-year-old boy approached a basketball court and opened fire, killing a man and wounding three teenagers. The firearm used in the shooting was a ghost gun — an untraceable, unserialized, homemade firearm, the building blocks for which can be purchased without a background check.

“The threat that ghost guns pose to our communities is indisputable and deeply concerning,” said Melissa Ladd, a volunteer with the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action. “This tragic shooting is a clear indication to our state lawmakers that they must act decisively to pass meaningful ghost gun reform and commit to protecting Marylanders from this type of devastating gun violence.”

Ghost guns are the fastest-growing gun safety threat facing our country. In Maryland, between 2016 and 2019, more than 12,000 ghost gun kits were shipped to Maryland. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) reported 117 ghost guns being recovered in the state in 2019, with over half that number being recovered in the early months of 2020. In Montgomery County alone, 73 ghost guns were recovered in 2020, compared to 60 recovered between 2017 and 2019. Information on gun violence in Maryland can be found here.