BOSTON (WHDH) - Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins released a statement Sunday on the recent acts of gun violence across the country.
Rollins began her statement with the shooting last week at a garlic festival in Gilroy, California that claimed the lives of three people, 6-year-old Stephen Romero, 13-year-old Keyla Salazar, and 25-year-old Trevor Irby, and injured 16 others.
“Less than a week later, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas,” Rollins said. “At least 20 people were killed, and 26 others were wounded during the shooting, it was the deadliest day in the country this year.”
Hours later another gunman opened fire outside of a night club in Dayton, Ohio where nine people were killed and 27 others were injured.
The violence in Dayton, Ohio, which took place on the 216th day of the year, marked the 251st mass shooting of 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
“Vigils are being held across the country for the victims of these senseless acts of violence, and of course Suffolk County and the city of Boston stand arm and arm with people of Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton. We know the strength of solidarity,” Rollins said. “We remember cities uniting behind us when we experienced terror at the finish line of the Boston Marathon six years ago.”
She added that these stories of pain and resilience are too familiar and they are part of a seemingly endless cycle of violence we refuse to address with the urgency it deserves.
“Thoughts and prayers do not keep our festivals, stores, nightclubs, schools, marathons, movie theaters, churches, or streets safe,” Rollins said. “We must do more.”
She says her office is committed to working with all parties dedicated to ensuring this week is an anomaly in history.
“We hope to look back at this time in our country’s past with shock and unfamiliarity, wondering why it took us so long to take action on this public safety epidemic,” Rollins said. “We can do better, we must do better.”
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