The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Friday released a multi-point plan to address gun violence impacting communities across Los Angeles and the United States.
At least 128 mass shootings have occurred across the nation this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. At least 13 of those shootings happened in California, the database shows.
In 2022, L.A. County saw 382 homicides; a gun killed three-fourths of the victims in those incidents.
Officials who worked on the Gun Violence Prevention Platform developed 40 different strategies to address gun violence, including intervention, prevention and healing. Officials also identified four key priority areas as critical first steps.
The four priority areas are:
- Gun Safety Legislation
- Social Connections and Healing Services
- Gun Violence Restraining Orders Awareness and Enforcement
- School Safety and Services
The plan was developed by L.A. County officials, community partners, faith leaders, health care and mental health professionals, social service providers and public health practitioners.
The full plan is available online.
“The Gun Violence Prevention Platform represents one of the most extensive, multifaceted plans ever put forth by the county to address the scorch of gun violence,” Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health director, said.
The plan “rejects the idea all too common that we have no choice but to resign ourselves to this insidious threat to daily life and well-being.”
Several hospital workers also spoke with KTLA, saying they don’t want to get political, but they can’t wait for legislation to change the issue, which they say has become a public health emergency.
“Gun violence is a public health issue,” Susan Stone, L.A. Care’s Senior Medical Director of Utilization and Care Management Services, said in a statement.
“As the largest public health plan in the country, serving many who have suffered from gun violence, L.A. Care is committed to working with our county partners in taking a stand against gun violence and for gun safety, making people’s lives safer and healthier.”
Stone said she was ill-prepared to handle the after math of mass shootings and that it was “horrible” to wrap up the bodies for five teenage boys on Mother’s Day after they were fatally shot.
