Mother takes over live stream on Fox News to urge gun control after Nashville shooting

Stephen Neukam
·2 min read
114

Correction: The live feed of Ashbey Benson’s comments, which aired on Fox News, came from a local CBS affiliate’s video camera. A previous article contained incorrect information.

A woman who said she and her son survived the mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, took over a livestream being aired on Fox News on Monday as reporters gathered for a press conference following a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, that left three students and three adults dead.

“How is this still happening? How are our children still dying and why are we failing them?” the woman, identified as Ashbey Beasley, said in front of cameras following a press conference by law enforcement.

“These shootings… will continue to happen until our lawmakers step up and pass gun safety legislation.”

The remarks from Beasley were broadcast on Fox News. Audio from the feed from CBS affiliate WTVF briefly cut out and then returned as she finished her plea for gun safety laws.

As the feed cut away, Fox News anchor John Roberts said he and his colleagues were growing weary of covering school shootings.

“Yes, we are tired of this. We’re very tired of reporting on school shootings week in and week out,” he said.

The shooting occurred at a private church-based elementary school. Police also killed the shooter, who was identified as a 28-year-old woman who was heavily armed with at least two assault-style weapons and a handgun, according to police. The woman was believed to be a former student at the school.

The shooting in Illinois at a Fourth of July parade, which Beasley said she was at with her six-year-old son, left seven people dead. Beasley said she had spent time since the shooting lobbying lawmakers to pass gun safety reform.

“I have been lobbying in D.C. since we survived a mass shooting in July,” Beasley said.

Beasley said she was on vacation with her son in Tennessee to visit her sister-in-law when the shooting happened.

A November article from local news affiliate ABC7 in Chicago detailed Beasley’s efforts to speak with lawmakers about gun reform, including visits that she had scheduled with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Az.), Mark Kelly (D-Az.) and former Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)

Updated: 5:15 p.m.

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