Friday, June 22, 2018

NY Senator Cites Recent Killing of Rappers in Call for an End to Gun Violence


Queens, NY – Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) said rappers XXXtentacion and Jimmy Wopo recently killed by guns as the nation marks June as Gun Violence Awareness Month, underscores the urgent need for communities to unite and protect lives.

“Rappers XXXtentacion and Jimmy Wopo were talented young men with potential to touch many lives, and now we will never know what contributions they would have made had they not lost their lives to gun violence,” said Senator Sanders. “As we across this nation reflect on the lives lost to senseless shootings, we must also come together to develop resolutions to stop these killings from happening.”

Rising star XXXTentacion was killed in a drive-by shooting in Deerfield Beach, FL. The controversial rapper penned chart-topping hits before his death, June 18. The same day, Pittsburgh-based rapper Jimmy Wopo was gunned down. Jimmy Wopo was killed in the very streets he rapped about.

“Shootings of rappers in the news opens old wounds for us here in Southeast Queens, where we are all too familiar with gun violence,” said Senator Sanders.

In recent years, Queens lost its share of notable rappers to gun violence:

Stack Bundles – The rapper was killed by an unknown gunman on his way home in Far Rockaway on June 11, 2007. Bundles was a rising star in the Jim Jones-led rap group, but still lived in public housing where he feared for his safety. His murder is unsolved.
 
Chinx – The Queens rapper well-known for his appearances on a French Montana mixtape was killed in Briarwood on May 17, 2015 by an unknown gunman. Two men were later arrested in connection with his murder.
 
Jam Master Jay - Run-D.M.C. founding member Jam Master Jay was shot dead by a masked assailant inside a Queens recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002. His death remains unsolved.

Source: New York Daily News

School shootings this year captured even more headlines. According to CNN, the news network says there have been 23 school shootings in 2018, an average of one school shooting a week.

“It’s become too common for our young to take the lives of others with guns,” Sanders said. “This shouldn’t be the case. We have to put differences aside and band together for the sake of life itself.”

In 2013, New York became the first State in the nation to designate an entire month to the issue of gun violence. It was created in an effort to bring attention to the needless and senseless acts in the State’s communities, while focusing on keeping citizens safe. Initiatives include preventing gun violence and promoting gun safety, and bringing citizens and community leaders together to discuss ways to make communities healthier.

To learn more visit www.gunviolenceawarenessmonth.com.

Source: The Office of State Senator James Sanders, Jr. 

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