Chairman Gray Statement on Holocaust Museum Shooting

June 10, 2009

For Immediate Release: June 10, 2009 (UPDATED)

Contact: Doxie A. McCoy 202-724-8032 202-664-9862 – cell dmccoy@dccouncil.us Chairman Gray Statement on Holocaust Museum Shooting Washington, DC— Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray commented on today’s shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, as he expressed sadness about the killing of a security guard there:

“I express my deepest sympathy for the family of Stephen Tyrone Johns, the security guard killed this afternoon at the Holocaust Museum. We are grateful to him and to countless public safety professionals who put their lives on the line to protect us. I also regret this shocking incident caused fear and trauma for those who were in the museum.

“A very tragic situation in itself, the fatal shooting of Officer Johns, allegedly at the hands of a reported white supremacist and ex-federal prisoner, unfortunately focuses greater attention on the need for the District of Columbia to preserve its gun control laws against those who would try to force us to weaken them.

“It’s a distressing commentary on our times that guns permeate our society and force all to be on guard, even in the nation’s capital. Today’s shooting is a regrettable example of why the District of Columbia’s gun laws should be not used as a bargaining chip by those in Congress who would use our city for political gain while compromising safety, particularly when it involves our right to a vote, a right enjoyed by every other American except those who live in the nation’s capital.”

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