Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen has introduced a bipartisan resolution honoring the victims of last week’s Evergreen High School shooting.
All members of the Colorado delegation are cosponsors of the bill. Sen. Michael Bennet introduced his chamber’s version of the resolution with Sen. John Hickenlooper.
Pettersen thanked her colleagues for signing onto the resolution to “condemn these violent attacks while also recognizing the people who exemplify the best of us.”
“Our schools are supposed to be a safe place – one where we should be able to drop our kids off without worrying if we will see them again. Unfortunately, that is far from our reality in the U.S., and what happened at Evergreen High School is every parent’s worst nightmare,” said Pettersen in a statement. “There is a lot to feel angry and disillusioned about right now, but visiting with the Evergreen community and hearing the stories of the heroes who saved countless lives, remind me of how resilient our community is and gives me hope for our future.”
The resolution condemns the “horrific act of violence” at the school, “honors the victims and survivors,” recognizes the “strength of the Evergreen community,” and “honors the first responders, law enforcement, health care providers, educators, faculty and neighbors” who rushed to help.
“Our children deserve to grow up in a country free from the trauma and terror of senseless gun violence,” said Bennet in a statement. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Evergreen High School community during this difficult time.”
Rep. Lauren Boebert added that kids should always feel safe and secure at school. “Our country's leaders need to work together at every level to make sure schools of all sizes have School Resource Officers at all times and enact other school safety measures to protect our children.”
On September 10, around lunchtime, a 16-year-old student at the school opened fire with a revolver, shooting two students, one inside the school building and one outside. Authorities said he reloaded multiple times as he walked through the school, looking for targets, but could not get to students and faculty behind locked doors.
A spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, appeared to have been “radicalized” by some extremist group, but did not elaborate further and said that a motive was still unclear. The investigation is likely to take weeks.
Congressional delegations regularly support resolutions like this after tragic events. There were two introduced after the Boulder firebomb attack this summer.
Minnesota’s delegation introduced a resolution earlier this month to honor the victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School on August 27.
