Fort Hood Mass Shooting, Leaving 13 Dead and 28 Injured, Latest Example of Price Paid for Deadly Firepower Available to Americans

Washington, DC--Following yesterday’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, leaving 13 dead and 28 injured, two of America’s leading national gun violence prevention organizations Freedom States Alliance and the Violence Policy Center--issued the following joint statement:

“Our sympathies go to all those affected by this terrible tragedy.

“The handguns used in yesterday’s rampage shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, demonstrate the deadly firepower available to any American--whether that person is a member of the military or a private citizen. Initial news reports describe the handguns possessed by the shooter as a semiautomatic pistol and .357 revolver, apparently neither was military issue. Like the Luby’s massacre in neighboring Killeen, Texas that occurred 18 years ago and left 23 dead and 20 injured, the facts are as simple as they are disturbing: easy access to unmatched firepower allows angry individuals to kill and wound at will.

“The answer to gun violence is not more guns. This most recent shooting serves only to demonstrate that all places where people gather are vulnerable to mass shootings--whether a school, church, shopping mall, or military base. This shooting also demonstrates the fallacy that mass shooters will avoid venues where people are likely to be armed or that mass shooters can be stopped easily by armed individuals. Ignoring the lessons of this most recent tragedy will only guarantee that the pattern will be repeated at yet another location.”

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.