BROOKLYN - U. S. Rep. Edolphus "Ed' Towns (NY-10) issued the following statement today, following the murder of David Murray, who was tragically killed at a basketball tournament, at St. Andrews Park, on Wednesday night, June 30th 2010.

 "Let me express my heartfelt sympathies to the family of David Murray, who, according to police reports, was an innocent bystander looking to enjoy a game when his life was abruptly and needlessly ended by gun violence. Two other people were also hit by stray bullets at that tournament--one an off-duty correction officer. Thankfully according to authorities, both will survive their wounds. In a little more than a week there were three other shootings in the 10th District that caused injuries. One involved a nine year-old boy who was shot in a dispute over a stolen bicycle-- that bringing the total of number of dead and injured by senseless gun violence to 6 .

"We should all be outraged by the increased level of gun violence and  know that, all too often, the debilitating aftermath of gun violence not only impacts victims and their families, but also devastates entire communities. I will not idly standby as innocent men, women and children fall victim to criminals who think they can act with impunity and believe that they are above the law. To that end, I am taking aggressive measures on the local level to tackle the issues that ignite violent crime in our community. In the coming weeks:

•    I will be meeting with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, seeking answers, solutions and strategies that better protect citizens and make our streets safe. In addition, I will urge the police Commissioner and the District Attorney to work with me on re-establishing the gun buy-back program that we successfully implemented in the past, which helped to remove guns off our streets.

•    I will be working with community leaders and press Senators to pass legislation which the House has already passed which will create hundreds of jobs for youth this summer. In Congress, I am working on issues, like foreclosure prevention and job creation, which can help to stabilize communities and lessen crime--while also supporting aggressive measures to address crime on a national and federal level.

"Together, we can make gun violence a thing of the past so that our community can be safe for children to play and for people of all ages to work, visit and live in peace with one another."

###

Return to Congressman Towns' website