Five Years to the Day Since Parkland, Another Terrifying Reminder of America’s Crisis of Gun Violence

Washington, D.C. — “Five years ago to the day, 17 students and educators were killed, and 17 more were wounded, in Parkland in a horrific shooting that never should have happened. Two more people were ultimately lost due to the unbearable pain and trauma. Every day, we grieve their loss. We know today is a particularly difficult day for many in our community, and we hold them close to our hearts.

Now, another shooting at Michigan State University that never should have happened. Young people at MSU and their loved ones are experiencing the searing pain that is far too familiar to Americans. Some of the very same young people who survived a shooting just a year ago at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan are now experiencing the very same grief and trauma, once again. Going to college after surviving a school shooting should be an escape from the horror and threat, not reliving the violence all over again and hiding barricaded in your dorm room or classroom. That should sicken Americans. It should sicken our leaders.

March For Our Lives has never made public statements on a day of mourning for our community, but today, we feel compelled. Five years ago today, young people in Parkland were moved to turn their grief into action, and birthed a movement that has achieved the unimaginable. And yet, today, young people still die needlessly, looking down the barrel of a gun. To those in power: We’re begging for action. We’re dying waiting for it, but we’ll fight like hell for change.“

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