A vigil for school shooting victims

This year marked the 9th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting that occurred in Newton, Connecticut. The lives of twenty-six people including twenty children; between six and seven years old and six adult staff members were taken tragically.

A vigil for the Sandy Hook Elementary and the Oxford High School shooting victims was held at Peace United Church Of Christ in Duluth on Tuesday. School Board Members Rosie Loeffler and David Kirby rang the bell in honor of each victim.

A message from Tuesday’s vigil also focused on doing all that we can to protect our children. "Our children are dying in huge numbers that are not acceptable! That shouldn’t be acceptable, and the fact that it is frightening to me," says Co-President of Northland Brady/Protect Minnesota chapter, Joan Peterson.

The number of school shootings has increased since the late 1990s. An article posted by The Washing Post Today stat that "since 1999, children have committed at least 175 school shootings. Among 114 cases, the weapon’s source was identified by police, 77 percent of the guns were taken from the child’s home or those of relatives or friends."

If you would like to learn more about encouraging the safe storage of guns, visit https://www.endfamilyfire.org/ and https://besmartforkids.org/. For more information on gun violence statistics, visit https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics.