A Highland Park mother who survived last summer's Fourth of July parade mass shooting addressed reporters on the scene of Monday's deadly mass shooting at a school in Nashville, pleading for lawmakers to pass gun safety laws in hope of reducing mass shootings.
Ashbey Beasley said she and her son were on vacation in Nashville, visiting her sister-in-law, when she was informed of the shooting at The Covenant School, and she then headed to the scene. Three adults and three children were killed early Monday by a 28-year-old woman who was armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun, authorities said. A motive wasn't immediately clear.
As reporters wrapped up a press conference with law enforcement, Beasley walked over to their microphones and said, "Aren't you guys tired of being here and having to cover all these mass shootings?"
"I’m from Highland Park, Illinois," she explained. "My son and I survived a mass shooting over the summer."
Since the July 4th mass shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens of others, Beasley has been lobbying for gun protections in Washington D.C. and has met with more than 100 lawmakers in pursuit of gun safety laws.
"How is this still happening?" she stated. "How are our children still dying, and why are we failing them?"
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Mass shootings will continue to happen, Beasley said, until lawmakers "step up" and pass gun safety legislation.
"We all have to call our lawmakers, we all have to make our lawmakers make change now or this is going to keep happening, and it’s going to be your kid and your kid and your kid next," Beasley said. "Because it’s just a matter of time."
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