Jun. 14—After three people were killed in a shooting at a Smithsburg-area business, the head of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce issued a call to action about gun violence.

"We ought to be good enough to have a community conversation about the fact that we shouldn't worry about sending our children to school," chamber President/CEO Rick Weldon said Friday at a chamber members meeting.

Weldon is a former Maryland state delegate who previously ran as a Republican, but later switched to unaffiliated.

"We shouldn't have to worry about workers who are just going to work to not come home safely that evening," Weldon said.

Joe Louis Esquivel, 23, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, is charged with three counts each of first- and second-degree murder for Thursday's shooting. Police say he opened fire on three co-workers at Columbia Machine Inc., killing them and injuring a fourth employee. A Maryland state trooper was also injured.

Less than 24 hours later, Frederick County Chamber of Commerce members and officials gathered for their scheduled annual meeting, held at the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ in Frederick.

Weldon told the crowd of dozens he would be "petitioning" the alumni of Leadership Frederick County.

Leadership Frederick County is a long-running leadership education program put on by the chamber. Weldon estimated the program has 1,600 alumni.

Weldon said he wants these alumni to "help us facilitate a community dialogue."

"I don't care how you feel about the Second Amendment," Weldon said. "I don't care how you feel about the state of mental health in our community. I don't care about the ideological issues that drive us to run to our tribal positions when these horrific events occur. But I think we ought to be big enough, smart enough, curious enough to all sit down together and have a conversation (about safety)."

In an interview later, Weldon said he hopes the dialogue he called for explores what the community can do to combat gun violence, such as providing mental health care for youth.

"We might be able to set a new course for other communities to be able to follow," Weldon said in his address to chamber members. "So stand by for the call, because it's coming."

Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller