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moms demand action
'Stop This Madness': 3 Killed in Mass Shooting at Rhode Island High School Hockey Game
"This is no way for our kids to live," said one gun control advocate.
Feb 16, 2026
Child safety advocates renewed calls for tighter gun control measures following a Monday mass shooting at a high school hockey game in Rhode Island that left three people including the gunman dead and three others injured.
WPRI reported that the father of a North Providence High School senior shot five members of his family at a hockey game at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket at around 2:30 pm local time. The student's mother was killed at the rink, while his sister died after being rushed to a local hospital. Three other relatives are reportedly in critical condition at Rhode Island Hospital.
"We realized pretty quickly that it was a gunshot. It was very scary," hockey player Silas Core said during an interview with WCVB, adding that he and his teammates rushed into a locker room.
"We barricaded the locker room with our bodies. We were all pressing up against it," he said. "Everybody was, you know, worried about our parents and everybody."
Core's mother told WCVB that everything "just happened so fast."
"You don't even know. You know, you just see everybody else on the ground and you kind of get on the ground," she said. "This is really disturbing, you know? And it's the other team's senior day. Like, it was supposed to be a special day for the team."
Pawtucket Police Chief Tina Goncalves said the shooting appeared to be “a family dispute," a “tragic” but "isolated" incident.
A woman who said she was the shooter's daughter told WCVB that the man suffered from mental health problems.
"He shot my family, and he's dead now," she said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the agency "will provide state and local law enforcement any and all resources necessary and keep the public updated as we are able."
"In the meantime," he added, "please pray for the victims and their families."
Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said that "as governor, a parent, and a former coach, my heart breaks for the victims, families, students, and everyone impacted by the devastating shooting at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket."
McKee added that he is "praying for our communities."
Gun control advocates demanded more than the customary thoughts and prayers.
People in this country should be able to enjoy school athletics without the fear of being gunned down. When will enough be enough?
— Moms Demand Action (@momsdemandaction.org) February 16, 2026 at 2:29 PM
"As a native Rhode Islander who has played many games in that very rink, this tragedy hits especially close to home," Stop Gun Violence board chair Brian Lemek said. "That space holds memories of community, competition, and joy—and now it’s filled with pain no community should have to carry."
"The only thing young athletes should worry about is the scoreboard—not their safety," he continued. "Our kids deserve spaces that bring communities together, they deserve to be safe, and they deserve a future free from this constant fear."
"This is no way for our kids to live," Lemek added. "We need to stop this madness."
Monday's incident follows December's mass shooting at Brown University in Providence—which is less than 10 miles from Pawtucket—that left two people dead and nine others wounded.
"We can and should work together to promote responsible gun ownership and pass legislation like safe storage laws and red flag laws—widely supported measures that keep guns out of dangerous situations while respecting responsible ownership," Lemek asserted Monday.
"I’m holding the victims and their loved ones in my heart," he added, "and I’m more determined than ever to build a future where our kids are safe in the places meant for joy."
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'A Pretext to Take Over American Cities': JD Vance Sparks Alarm With Comments on Insurrection Act
"The guardrails are gone," warned Democratic political strategist David Axelrod.
Oct 12, 2025
Vice President JD Vance sparked alarm on Sunday when he said that President Donald Trump was considering invoking the Insurrection Act under the pretenses of combating violent crime in US cities.
During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Vance if Trump was "seriously considering" invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the US military to carry out law enforcement operations.
Vance responded by saying Trump is "looking at all his options," and added that he hasn't felt the need to invoke it for the time being.
Vance proceeded to justify invoking the Insurrection Act, which he said could be necessary to protect the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
"We have to remember why we're talking about this, Kristen," he said. "Because crime has gotten out of control in our cities, because ICE agents, the people enforcing our immigration laws, have faced a 1,000% increase in violent attacks against them. We have people right now who are going out there, who are doing the job the president asked them to do, who are enforcing our immigration laws, they're being assaulted."
Welker countered by noting that a judge in Illinois found last week that the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois has remained entirely open and operational despite being the target of protesters in recent weeks.
She also informed Vance that crime has been coming down significantly in both Chicago and Portland, two US cities where Trump has tried to deploy National Guard forces.
"Kristen, crime is down in Chicago and Portland often because they're so overwhelmed at the local level, they're not even keeping their statistics properly," Vance replied, without providing any evidence to back up his claim.
WELKER: Are you seriously looking at invoking the Insurrection Act?
VANCE: The president is looking at all of his options, right now he hasn't felt he needed to. But we have to remember we are talking about this because crime has gotten out of control in our cities
WELKER:… pic.twitter.com/vBBPkUidPu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 12, 2025
Vance's justifications for invoking the Insurrection Act on the grounds that he laid out drew alarmed reactions from many critics.
"This is a pretext to take over American cities by force," wrote CNN political commentator Karen Finney in a post on X.
Shannon Watts, the founder of anti-gun violence organization Moms Demand Action, linked Vance's comments to the current shutdown of the federal government and questioned whether the government deserved to be funded when its executive branch was threatening to unleash the military against its own citizens.
"Why should Democrats vote to open the government while this is still happening?" she asked.
Cornell William Brooks, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and former president of the NAACP, argued in a post on Bluesky that Vance's comments show that the Trump administration "insults your intelligence."
"The same administration that fired an economist for reporting statistics on the economy," he wrote, "is asking you to not believe lower statistics on crime, not see safer streets, and accept the National Guard in your front yard."
Democratic political strategist David Axelrod warned that the Trump administration seems genuinely eager to send troops into US cities.
"Believe them when they tell you what they're planning, folks," he wrote. "Trump wanted to use American troops against Americans in his first term, and was dissuaded by responsible civilian and military leaders. No more. The guardrails are gone."
Attorney George Conway, a former Republican who left the party over its embrace of Trump, responded to Vance's comments by posting a video of anti-ICE protesters in Chicago dancing in the streets to the classic Neil Diamond hit, "Sweet Caroline."
Asked by Kristen Welker on Meet the Press this morning whether the White House was seriously considering invoking the Insurrection Act, Vice President Vance said, "The president is looking at all his options." pic.twitter.com/GVKxXf2YmI
— George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 (@gtconway3d) October 12, 2025
Talk of invoking the Insurrection Act has ramped up in recent weeks, despite the fact that protests against ICE facilities in Illinois and Oregon have remained overwhelmingly peaceful and have featured impromptu dance parties carried out by people dressed in inflatable animal costumes.
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As Charlie Kirk Killed on Utah Campus, 3 Teens Hurt in Colorado High School Shooting
"What does it say about us that the news of a conservative political activist getting assassinated may need to compete for coverage with yet another school shooting?" said one podcaster.
Sep 10, 2025
As condemnation of the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continued to pour in on Wednesday, details emerged about another shooting, at Evergreen High School in Colorado, that left at least three teenagers in critical condition.
"What does it say about us that the news of a conservative political activist getting assassinated may need to compete for coverage with yet another school shooting?" writer and podcaster Manny Fidel asked on social media.
Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot during an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk's spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, and US President Donald Trump confirmed his death. There is no suspect in custody.
Footage shared on social media shows that just before Kirk was shot in the neck, a member of the crowd asked him, "Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?" Kirk responded, "Counting or not counting gang violence?"
March for Our Lives, which launched in the wake of the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was among the organizations and public figures who weighed in on Kirk's apparent assassination.
" Gun violence spares no one," the group said. "The shooting of Charlie Kirk makes clear that this crisis doesn't care about ideology or politics—it endangers us all. We know the solutions: stronger background checks, extreme risk protection orders, accountability for the gun industry, and more. What stands in the way is not a lack of answers, but political obstruction. Every day of inaction costs lives. It's long past time for leaders of every party to choose people over politics and act."
March for Our Lives also called out the Trump administration for various actions it has taken since the president returned to power:
Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts said, "The problem with allowing guns everywhere is that no one is safe anywhere."
Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Utah 36th in the country for "gun law strength." The Utah Valley University website says in part that it "complies with state law with regard to weapons" and "allows concealed firearm permit holders to possess their concealed firearm on campus."
Watts and March for Our Lives were among those who highlighted that the Kirk shooting coincided with the one in Colorado. The gun violence prevention organization said, "Another group of kids left to live with fear and trauma, because our so-called leaders would rather protect the gun lobby than protect the people they serve."
As The Denver Post reported on the shooting in Evergreen, Colorado:
Hundreds of police and law enforcement officers responded to the high school at 29300 Buffalo Park Road for an active shooting, which county officials first reported on social media at 12:40 pm.
Three people from the high school were being treated at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood on Wednesday afternoon and were in critical condition, spokesperson Lindsay Radford said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office later confirmed on social media that "one of the three students transported is the suspect," and the school, which over 900 children attend, has been cleared by law enforcement.
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said that "I am closely monitoring the situation at Evergreen High School, and am getting live updates. State troopers are supporting local law enforcement in responding to this situation. Students should be able to attend school safely and without fear across our state and nation. We are all praying for the victims and the entire community."
Polis separately addressed Kirk's shooting, saying that "political violence is never acceptable, and I condemn the brutal and inexcusable attack on Charlie Kirk in Utah. This is a challenging time for so many in our country, but any divisions we face will never be solved by trying to hurt each other. I am sending hope and love to his friends and his family in this dark hour. I encourage everyone to be stronger and disagree better and peacefully."
Like the governor, Fred Guttenberg, who became an activist against gun violence after his 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was murdered in Parkland, took note of both shootings. He declared that "it is time for Republicans and Democrats to find a way to work together to reduce gun violence."
Also acknowledging both shootings, Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-Pa.) said: "Gun violence and political violence cannot continue to devastate our communities. We need gun reform now."
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