PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — During the City Council meeting Wednesday, Mayor Ted Wheeler retroactively declared June 3 to be Gun Violence Awareness Day in Portland.
The mayor referenced recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. Five days after the massacre at Robb Elementary, there were ten shootings inside Portland city limits; 10 people were wounded in a 24-hour span.
“It’s time to look ourselves in the mirror, and face the reality that we have to change in order to put an end to this epidemic,” Wheeler said. “We have to change how we respond to conflict. Settling our differences with a gun should never be the default response.”
June 3 was also National Gun Violence Awareness Day, recognized on the first Friday of June, and was chosen to honor the memory of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old who was shot and killed in 2013.
Orange is worn on the day to raise awareness of gun violence and pay tribute.