Shootings Across Pennsylvania Underscore Need for Urgent Action on Gun Violence 

The start of October has been marred by yet another deadly week as gun violence killed and wounded many across Pennsylvania. Gun violence continues to be the leading cause of death for children, teenagers, and college-aged people in the country. 

A snapshot of gun violence in Pennsylvania from over the weekend: 

• WHITE TOWNSHIP: On Sunday evening, a mass shooting erupted in Indiana County where, according to reports, a 22-yr old was shot and killed and eight others were wounded after gunfire broke out around at a community center where a private event was being held. 
• WILLOW GROVE: On Sunday evening, a 69-year-old woman was shot and killed by law enforcement after she pointed a gun at an EMT. According to reports, law enforcement officials and EMTs were called to the home before the incident.  
• WEST PHILADELPHIA: On Saturday night, a 20-year-old man was killed in a shooting along S. Salford Street. According to police, another young man was taken to a nearby hospital after being shot in the leg but is now in stable condition. 
• PHILADELPHIA: On late Saturday night, a security guard shot a 30-year-old man at the LB’s Lounge in Olney. According to reports, the security guard asked the man to leave, but the man then returned and threatened the security guard with a gun. 

Last weekend, Josh Kruger, a local Pennsylvania reporter known for his coverage on underserved communities was shot and killed in his Point Breeze home. According to reports, Kruger was trying to help the man who shot him but is not clear how the shooter ended up in the victim’s home, which did not appear to have been breached before the attack. 

House Speaker Joanna McClinton, Representative Jen O’Mara, Senators Jay Costa and Anthony Williams, and Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala joined over a hundred gun safety advocates last week to call for urgent legislative action to tackle gun violence, including calling on the Senate to follow the House’s lead and pass HB 1018 and HB 714. These bills would establish an Extreme Risk law, sometimes known as a “Red Flag” law, which is crucial to keeping guns out of the hands of those at risk of harming themselves or others, and expand the Commonwealth’s background check requirement to cover sales of all firearms by unlicensed sellers. 

In an average year in Pennsylvania, 1,713 people die by guns. With a rate of 13.1 deaths per 100,000 people, Pennsylvania has the 33rd-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. Gun violence costs Pennsylvania $21.7 billion each year, of which $470.7 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in Pennsylvania is available here. 

To speak with a local Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action volunteer, please reach out to [email protected].