Chicago Workplace Shooting Shows Need for National Handgun Ban. Shooting Comes on Heels of Most Lethal Month for Workplace Shootings

The tragic shooting at an auto parts warehouse in Chicago Wednesday is just the latest proof of the all-too-high price America pays for the easy access it allows its citizens to handguns and the need for a national ban on this category of firearm. Six employees were gunned down while working at the warehouse. The shooter was then killed by police responding to the slaughter.

August 29, 2003 -- The tragic shooting at an auto parts warehouse in Chicago Wednesday is just the latest proof of the all-too-high price America pays for the easy access it allows its citizens to handguns and the need for a national ban on this category of firearm. Six employees were gunned down while working at the warehouse. The shooter was then killed by police responding to the slaughter. Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims of this horrific incident," says Chris McGrath, executive director of Handgun-Free America, a new, grassroots organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. that works for a ban on handgun sale and possession in the United States.

The gun used in the shootings was a Walther PP .380-caliber semiautomatic. According to Chicago Sun-Times, the handgun was made for plainclothes cops because of its big firepower and small size." The gun holds 8 rounds, and police found an extra ammunition magazine at the scene.

The shooting in Chicago comes on the heels of the most deadly month of workplace shootings in American history. According to our research, July of this year stands out as the most lethal month of workplace shootings ever," says McGrath. In that month alone, 22 people were killed, and 16 were injured in seven separate incidents."

Handgun-Free America is against possession of handguns by anyone other than law enforcement and the military. The fact that a man with a history of violent acts and multiple arrests for felonies could so easily obtain a handgun and use it to kill six of his coworkers exposes the fundamental flaws in our current approach to reducing gun violence," says McGrath. While keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons and others who have been identified as potentially dangerous is a step in the right direction, the only way we are going to effectively reduce gun violence in America is to eliminate access to handguns by all non-military and non-law enforcement."

Chicago is one of a handful of cities with a standing ban on handguns, notes Handgun-Free America. Unfortunately, without handgun bans in place throughout Illinois and the rest of the country, incidents such as this one will continue," says McGrath.

Handgun-Free America is currently conducting a study of workplace shootings in an effort to uncover trends that may be useful to businesses concerned with the safety of their employees. So far, HFA has identified more than 100 such incidents over the past 15 years. This shooting marks the 15th workplace shooting so far this year. The study will be published in September on the organizations website, www.handgunfree.org.