Featured Story
Tennessee’s Republican-dominated House approved legislation to allow public school teachers and staff to carry handguns on campus without informing parents and most of their colleagues that they’re armed; training will be required, but opponents argue that it is not rigorous enough. After the vote, dozens of protesters chanted “Blood on your hands,” and the floor of the lower chamber devolved into chaos as a scrum ensued between a Republican and Democratic lawmaker.
The bill now heads to Governor Bill Lee’s desk, where it is almost certain to become law within weeks. [The Tennessean]
Data
Road rage shootings are on the rise in almost every corner of the country: Between 2014 and 2023, a Trace analysis shows, the number of people shot in road rage incidents surged more than 400 percent. Last year, someone was in a road rage incident every 18 hours on average, up from once every four days in 2014.
All told, armed drivers — angry about collisions, getting cut off on the highway, or for reasons never made clear — shot nearly 4,000 people in that decade. One in four of those people were killed. The Trace’s Jennifer Mascia and Chip Brownlee have more on which states and cities are home to the most of these shootings, and what might be behind the uptick.
What to Know Today
New York Mayor Eric Adams requested the resignation of the interim chair of the city’s police oversight board, following her fierce criticism of how police handled an investigation into two officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Bronx man in his home five years ago. Arva Rice, who has led the Civilian Complaint Review Board since 2022, also drew the ire of Police Department officials for requesting more power and money to investigate misconduct. [The New York Times]
Latino people are disproportionately affected by gun violence, yet little is known about the specific health impact and financial toll that gun violence takes on them, both at the individual and community level. Local and nonprofit groups are filling in the gaps in official data with important on-the-ground knowledge. [palabra and WHYY]
A Los Angeles high school student was shot and killed after an adult who was a member of a “safe passages” program — designed to ensure that students make it to and from school unharmed — apparently declined to intervene in a fight. The adult’s alleged conduct is the latest spark in a heated debate over campus safety in South LA. [Los Angeles Times]
A Baltimore County woman who was indicted for allegedly conspiring with the leader of a neo-Nazi group to attack local energy substations and “lay [the] city to waste” now faces a federal firearms offense: Court documents show that she’s accused of possessing a 12-gauge shotgun despite spending over a year in prison. [The Baltimore Banner]
A recently unsealed court record sheds light on how some alleged murder-for-hire rings operate in the modern era. Last year, per the documents, shooters targeted a New York man for several weeks, eventually injuring him — hits that were organized largely on Instagram and Telegram. [Court Watch and 404 Media]
Data Point
68-28— the vote by which the Tennessee House passed legislation to arm teachers. Four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill. [The Tennessean]
