October 10, 2022
PHILADELPHIA—"Our city is once again reeling from the murder of a child-- a thirteen-year-old boy in West Oak Lane whose life was stolen from him, robbed of his future dreams and aspirations, never to even graduate eighth grade. My heart breaks for all who knew and loved him: his family, his friends, his neighbors, the entire Wagner Middle School community; the impact of such a tragedy is measureless.
"The collective trauma wrought by this ongoing crisis is overwhelming. I've said it so many times before: we send our sincerest condolences and thoughts, but they are wholly insufficient. Our children are dying, our neighbors are dying--416 homicides in our beloved city this year alone.
"It's long past time that our elected leaders act, especially those in Harrisburg who continue to sit on their hands and refuse to allow Philadelphia to legislate common sense gun laws.
"We cannot keep living and dying this way."
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