Two Adults and One Infant Shot and Killed in Apparent Familicide in Columbus, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action Respond

Tuesday's Shooting is the Most Recent in a String of Domestic Violence Homicide-Suicides in the Last Three Weeks in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety's grassroots network, released the following statement after an instance of familicide in Columbus where a man shot and killed a woman and an infant, presumed to be his girlfriend and child, and then died by firearm suicide. This marks the fifth incident of domestic violence homicide-suicide in Columbus in three weeks.

"This is absolutely devastating. It's also infuriating. Because of the widespread unfettered access to guns in this state, three people have died and a child will never grow up," said Shannon Mulligan, a volunteer with the Ohio chapter of Moms Demand Action. "We are sick and tired of lawmaker inaction in the face of these awful tragedies. We need measures in place to prevent those who are a danger to themselves and others from obtaining firearms, including laws to disarm violent domestic abusers and an Extreme Risk Protection Order law. We refuse to stand by while more families suffer the pain and trauma of this epidemic."

The stigma surrounding domestic violence - and the role of firearms in perpetrating that violence - means that, too often, we don't talk about or recognize its full toll. Familicide is an instance of domestic violence where a person kills two or more family members such as their partner or children before killing themselves. A study of mass shootings in the United States from 2014 to 2019 found that more than half of all domestic violence-related mass shootings ended with a perpetrator dying by firearm suicide.

Last month, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund put out a new report detailing the immeasurable impact of domestic homicide-suicides with a firearm, where surviving family members, friends, and community members are forced to mourn lives taken and forever changed by firearms, with some children grappling with the loss of their caretakers. The report also outlined recommendations to prevent future dual tragedies of intimate partner homicide-suicide, including education on risk factors and implementation of the tools that can be used to disarm people who are a danger to themselves or others such as domestic abusers, including Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and Extreme Risk Protection Orders.

Ohio does not have an Extreme Risk Law in place, which would allow law enforcement, district attorneys, family or household members to petition for a court order to disarm someone in crisis. Ohio also does not bar convicted domestic abusers or domestic abusers subject to domestic violence restraining orders from having guns, nor does the state require those violent domestic abusers to turn in their guns when they become prohibited from having them. More information on how to prevent domestic homicide-suicides can be found here.

Ohio has the 24th-highest rate of gun deaths in the country. In an average year, 1,728 people die by guns and 3,526 are wounded. More information about gun violence in Ohio can be found here.

More information on gun-related domestic violence is availablehere. Information about the intersection of intimate partner violence and guns is available here. To speak with a policy expert, Moms Demand Action and/or Students Demand Action volunteer, or survivor of gun violence, please do not hesitate to reach out.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or intimate partner violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, available 24/7, for confidential assistance from a trained advocate. If you're unable to speak safely via phone, you can chat online at thehotline.org.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org/chat to chat with a counselor from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, free, and confidential support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress anywhere in the US.