Former Dayton Mayor on Weekend Mass Shooting in Ohio

June 3, 2024

A deadly shooting in Akron that has left dozens injured is yet another reminder of America’s gun violence epidemic

WASHINGTON — Over the weekend, a shooting at a birthday party in Akron, Ohio, left one person dead and 24 people wounded by gunfire, according to police officials. Nan Whaley, a board member at Guns Down America and a former mayor who led the response to the 2019 Dayton, Ohio, mass shooting, released the following statement on behalf of Guns Down America:

“This weekend, friends and family gathered to celebrate a birthday—a beautiful life milestone—when gunfire erupted, senselessly cutting one life short and irrevocably altering many others. We are, and have been, living through a gun violence epidemic. Every day, more and more guns are pumped onto our streets and into our communities, making us all less safe. The handguns recovered at the scene didn’t come from thin air. They were produced and marketed as consumer goods. The gun industry has long evaded culpability in the rise in gun violence felt in Ohio, and states across the country, where it’s all too easy for the wrong person to get their hands on a deadly weapon. As more and more lives are cut short, birthdays turned into memorials, the gun lobby has capitalized off its own cycle of destruction to sell more guns. As our neighbors in Akron mourn today, as we did in Dayton just five years ago, we commit to holding the gun industry accountable for their role in the proliferation of these deadly weapons.”