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The House Oversight Committee has organized a hearing for next week on the spree of deadly national gun violence that will feature dramatic testimony from a fourth grader who survived the Uvalde, Texas school shooting just days ago.
The hearing, on ‘The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic,’ features testimony from family members and victims of the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary as well as the shooting at a Buffalo supermarket last month that left 10 dead.
It was organized by panel chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who has previously used her committee’s broad jurisdiction to probe gun sales and other matters related to gun violence.
According to a committee release, a first panel of witnesses includes Miah Cerrillo, the fourth grader who said after the horrific shooting that she had covered herself in blood to try to fool the shooter into thinking she was dead.
Cerrillo, 11, will be attending the Capitol hearing, where witnesses are taking part both in person and virtually.
Miah Cerrillo, 11, is scheduled to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing on the gun violence epidemic
She described the horrific incident in an interview, telling of how she covered herself with a deceased friend’s blood in an effort to play dead when the gunman went to an adjoining classroom.
She also sought to stop the carnage by placing a 911 call using a teacher’s phone, pleading to police: ‘Please come … we’re in trouble.’
The committee announced the hearing as police conduct continued to be under scrutiny, and the latest revelation that the sheriff who arrived on the scene to take charge of the incident did not have a radio.
Also appearing will be Zeneta Everhart, the mother of Zaire Goodman, who was injured in the attack on a Buffalo supermarket. Both events helped prompt yet another national conversation on gun violence and a new push by Democrats for gun control measures.
Roy Guerrero, M.D., the only pediatrician in Uvalde, and Felix Rubio and Kimberly Rubio – the parents of Lexi Rubio, 10, who died in the shooting – also will participate.
The Rubios made pleas for new gun restrictions following the shooting that took their daughter.
Cerillo and her family recounted how she covered herself in the blood of a deceased classmate and friend to protect herself during the shooting
Felix and Kimberly Rubio, the parents of Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, have called for gun control measures following the shooting that took the life of their daughter
Zaire Goodman, a supermarket employee, was helping a shopper outside when he was wounded by a gunman. His mother Zeneta Everhart, is scheduled to testify
‘We live in this really small town in this red state, and everyone keeps telling us, you know, that it’s not the time to be political, but it is — it is,’ Kimberly Rubio told the New York Times following the shooting. ‘Don’t let this happen to anybody else.’
Felix Rubio has called for a ban on AR-15 assault rifles of the kind used in the massacre.
‘After 19 innocent children and two teachers lost their lives in Texas just ten days after the mass shooting in my home state of New York, I’m turning my anger into action,’ Maloney said in a statement announcing the hearing.
‘Our hearing will examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes,’ she continued.
‘It is my hope that all my colleagues will listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives. This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that.’
President Joe Biden issued an impassioned plea for gun control and other measures in a prime time speech Thursday. A House Judiciary hearing on on gun legislation Thursday featured angry clashes, with one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) whipping out three firearms and gun magazines while zooming into the hearing from home.
Guerrero, the only pediatrician in the town, also once attended Robb Elementary, and described the experience of treating the wounded on the Today Show.
‘The most horrible part, I guess, was just seeing parents I knew outside screaming, asking me to look for their kids. You never really get that out of your head,’ he said.
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