Senator Stern Issues Statement on Thousand Oaks Shooting

Thousand Oaks – California State Senator Henry I. Stern (D- Thousand Oaks) issued the following statement on the shooting in Thousand Oaks, California:

“We never think a mass shooting will happen in our community...until it does. Today, we mourn with anger and unwanted grief the loss of those who were taken from the Thousand Oaks community far too early. 

I extend my deepest gratitude to the heroic actions of Sgt. Ron Helus and send condolences to his family. Helus dedicated 29 years of service to ensure the safety of our community. We will mourn him along with eleven other innocent lives we lost.

There have been 307 mass shootings in 2018. Some survivors also witnessed the Las Vegas Massacre – the deadliest in US history. It has only been two weeks since the massacre at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.  

Young people from Thousand Oaks to Parkland cry “enough” and “never again.”  Now we must think long and hard as policy makers on both sides of the aisle about how to heed these calls and pursue real change. Words are not enough anymore.”

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