State officials, health care leaders speak at Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in DC
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - With more than 50 people shot and killed in Louisville in 2023, Ky. Congressman Morgan McGarvey joined health officials to address the violence crisis within the city and the commonwealth.
McGarvey was joined in Washington D.C. by UofL Health Chief Medical Officer and trauma surgeon Dr. Jason Smith in an attempt to discuss with House Republicans to create and pass legislation to address gun violence.
Smith said he wants discussions on gun violence to continue for all shootings.
“The simple fact of the matter is that between a mass shooting on Monday and a mass shooting that occurred on Saturday, I had 18 other gun shot wounds in my community that week that I had to deal with,” Smith said. “That is not just Louisville. There is no town, there is no city, there is no place in the United States that is not having to deal with this.”
McGarvey described what happened after he found out about the shooting at Old National Bank on April 10.
“My oldest daughter Claire, all the color drained from her face, and she goes ‘Oh no, which school,’” McGarvey said. “The next day when my wife was dropping them off at school, she looked back and she said, ‘Hey mommy, please be safe at work today.’ This breaks your heart.”
Louisville’s deadliest year ever happened in 2021 with a total of 188 homicides. Less than five months into 2023, Louisville has had two mass shootings and a total of 53 homicides.
By: Dustin Vogt
Source: WAVE News