North Texas congressman introduces resolution in response to recent Fort Worth shootings
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey introduced a congressional resolution on gun violence in response to the deadly shootings in Fort Worth over the Fourth of July weekend.
The resolution aims to “spur action on the passage of common sense gun safety legislation that will help prevent gun violence and keep our communities safe,” according to Thursday news release from Veasey.
“Gun violence continues to tear apart communities in North Texas and across the country,” Veasey said. “Over the July 4th holiday, three Texans were killed, and more than a dozen were injured in two separate acts of gun violence in my hometown of Fort Worth. Texans and Americans deserve to feel safe in our communities, which is why I introduced this resolution and why I continue to work with my colleagues to advance effective and reasonable gun violence prevention measures that will help end tragedies that have become far too common.”
Three people were killed and eight others were injured on July 3 in the Lake Como neighborhood at an afterparty on Horne Street following the annual homecoming celebration ComoFest.
Cynthia Santos, 22; Paul Willis, 18; and Gabriella Navarette, 18, were the victims killed at the Como block party.
Christopher Redic Jr., 20, and Brandon Williams, 19, were arrested on suspicion of murder in connection to the Como shooting, Fort Worth police announced July 7.
“I don’t know much about the two gunmen that were arrested,” said Veasey in a speech referencing the gunmen accused in the Como shooting. “But I bet you they’re just as bad as the person that was responsible for so many of those murders during that 1994 era.”
According to Veasey, three men were killed in February 1994 in Lake Como. The west Fort Worth neighborhood has had a history of violence on July 3 beginning in 1988, when 15 people were arrested during a night when rocks and bottles were thrown at cars. Eight people were shot on the Fourth of July weekend in 2021. Residents say outsiders have been responsible for much of the violence in the neighborhood.
“It should be easy to pass bills like background checks and raising the age limits for AR-15s and make sure that people like the ones I just described don’t ever get their hands on a firearm in their lives,” said Veasey about the 1994 and 2023 Como gunmen. “We’ve got to do better.”
Five people were also injured in a shooting on the evening of July 3 in the Polytechnic Heights neighborhood in east Fort Worth. Angel Salas was arrested in connection the shooting and faces charges of aggravated assault.
Veasey’s resolution is the latest effort in his history of working to prevent gun violence, he said. He serves as deputy whip of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and helped get the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — which implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun safety — passed into law.
Veasey has also been a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which would make it unlawful to sell or transfer a firearm in any transaction without a Brady Background Check.
