SUMMIT, NJ — Residents from Essex and Union counties gathered Jan. 13 at Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit to hold a vigil in honor of the victims of gun violence, before turning the program into an introduction to ways to prevent gun violence. The event was held halfway between the anniversaries of the Dec. 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., and the Feb. 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla. Attendees lit candles to remember those students killed, in addition to the 199 victims of gun violence who died in New Jersey in 2019.
The Rev. Robin Tanner led the vigil, which was organized by South Orange resident Katherine Allen, and told attendees that in 2019, 15,208 people died in the United States because of gun violence. Of those people, 692 were under the age of 11, and 3,068 were between 12 and 17 years old, as per the Gun Violence Archive.
