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‘We are at a standstill’: Columbia residents fed up with little action on gun violence
Bryant Wilks was a bright and driven 17 year old in Columbia. Already a manager at Dairy Queen, he was on track to graduate high school early and attend college to study business. But he became one of 14 people killed in the central Missouri college town in 2020, a record year for homicides. For […]
When Missouri repealed a key gun law, few protested. The result: more deaths than ever
Frank Randle was pulling his truck into the parking lot of 9ine Ultra Lounge for his shift as a security guard at the club in January 2020 when chaos broke out. Gunshots pierced the frigid air as people ran in all directions, screaming and trampling each other. In his rearview, he saw a woman on […]
‘We should be doing more’: In St. Louis and KC, fixing vacancy reduces gun violence
ST. LOUIS At first, Chassidy Howard thought she was hearing fireworks. Then she felt the pain in her leg. It was excruciating — she had been shot. Howard fell down behind a car and listened to her grown son Buddy call out from down the street. “Mama, mama, I’ve been hit! I’ve been hit!” Buddy […]