What to Know Today
A Biden administration violence intervention initiative ends today. Backers say they need more time. The Community Violence Intervention Collaborative provided local leaders across the U.S. with funding and training for programs to break cycles of violence. But the initiative only lasted 18 months, and those involved told Politico that, while they’ve seen success in the past year and a half, it’s not long enough to yield quantifiable results. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?” said public safety expert Sasha Cotton. “This work isn’t being built in a day either.” Money troubles: As part of President Joe Biden’s broader strategy for reducing gun violence, Congress approved millions in funding for community-based prevention. But for grassroots organizations, The Trace’s Chip Brownlee reports, actually getting that money can be a challenge.
Colorado Springs mass shooting suspect charged with 305 criminal counts, including hate crimes. They include 10 counts of first-degree murder and 48 counts of bias-motivated crimes, The Colorado Sun reports. It’s likely the highest number of charges filed in a single murder case in Colorado, according to El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen. Five people were killed and 17 injured in the attack on a queer nightclub last month.
An emergency protective order didn’t save a Philadelphia woman from being killed by her ex-boyfriend. Sahmya Garcia was shot and killed last month just two days after obtaining a restraining order against her abusive ex. Her friends and family told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Garcia had been in touch with the police for weeks before her murder, and said that law enforcement failed to protect her. When protective orders don’t protect: The days immediately after an abused person files a restraining order are extremely dangerous, Ann Givens reported for The Trace in 2019. Yet gun restrictions are often not automatically included in temporary orders of protection.
Nashville sees another record year in number of guns stolen from cars. More than 1,300 firearms have been reported stolen from vehicles in 2022, according to police, and the number is expected to continue to rise as the year ends. WPLN reports that gun thefts from cars in Nashville began to increase after 2013, following the passage of a state “guns in trunks” law that allowed firearm owners to carry their weapons in their vehicles. This reporting backs up a Trace investigation that showed gun theft steadily climbed between 2005 and 2016 — and quietly fueled violent crime.
Oregon judge places hold on gun restrictions after federal judge OKs. Hours after U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut said a ban on high-capacity magazines — part of Measure 114 — could take effect, a state judge temporarily blocked the entire law from being implemented, OPB reports. The Oregon Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling in a last-minute order on Wednesday. In the initial federal ruling, Immergut also granted the Oregon AG’s request to put the law’s permit-to-purchase mandate on hold, averting an effective freeze on gun sales. Nationwide, states pushing post-Bruen gun restrictions face lawsuits and legal uncertainty.
Data Point
5x — the increase in the likelihood a domestic violence victim will be killed if their abuser has a gun. [American Journal of Public Health via The Texas Tribune]
