Press Statement
Mayor Gavin Buckley
Public Information Office
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
Mayor Buckley on Uvalne School Shooting:
“We Must Do Better”
“Once again America mourns. Once again families grieve. Once again, on behalf of the residents of the City of Annapolis, I now offer deepest condolences to another community affected by the scourge of gun violence.
“This time we reach out with love and heartache to the families of the 18 children and the teacher who were murdered today in the classroom of their elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. This tragic loss of innocent lives comes on the heels of the hate-motivated shooting last week at a grocery store in Buffalo. It is too much.
“Since I was first elected a little more than four years ago, I have had to stand beside victims of gun violence in our own community and I have had to make too many statements of condolence to other grieving communities across this country.
"I know these events are particularly hard on Annapolis. As we approach the anniversary of the Capital Gazette murders, many have Rob, Gerald, Wendi, John and Rebecca on their minds and the survivors in their hearts. Each mass shooting is a painful reminder of the innocence we lost four years ago.
"It is too much. These heinous acts of violence that take innocent lives in schools, churches, synagogues, newsrooms, shopping centers, subways, concerts, nightclubs, grocery stores and other public and private settings cannot be allowed to become commonplace. We cannot allow this to be our normal. We must continue to press our federal elected officials to act.
"We must do better. For our children, for our communities, and for our nation. We must do better."