Tri-State leaders echo calls to end gun violence after Highland Park mass shooting

NEW YORK — The massacre during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois was the 309th mass shooting this year in America.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were a total of six mass shootings Monday in several cities. There have been 14 in the first four days of the month. 

The organization defines a mass shooting as involving four or more shooting victims, not including the gunman. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy reacted to the latest shooting, saying he will sign seven gun safety bills into law Tuesday. 

The bills were approved by the state legislature last week in response to the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. 

“Not even a parade on the Fourth of July celebrating our nation’s independence is immune from our nation’s gun violence epidemic,” the governor tweeted Monday. “Tomorrow, I will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun safety bills into law. We cannot wait.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams echoed his call for an “end to gun violence.”

“This should be a day to safely celebrate our rights and freedoms. Instead, the scourge of gun violence has struck yet another community – this time at a Fourth of July parade,” Hochul tweeted. “Highland Park is in our hearts today. We must put an end to gun violence.”

“On this day dedicated to freedom, we’re given a tragic reminder that our right to life and liberty will be at risk so long as we continue to allow illegal guns and violent gunmen to go unchecked,” tweeted Adams. “We pray for Highland Park today, but the time for real action on gun safety is NOW.”