UPDATE (August 6, 2019): This story has been updated with additional comments from the Newtown Action Alliance.

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In Hartford, Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement, August 4, regarding the mass shootings that occurred this weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio: “There is a real epidemic of domestic terrorism growing in this country, with at least one of this weekend’s mass shootings reportedly perpetrated by a white nationalist. These are acts of evil generated by an expanding ideology of hatred. It’s far past time that leaders throughout our country take action against this plague that is tearing our nation apart.

“We need leadership, particularly in Washington, that will not be owned by special interests. We need leadership that will not cave to the NRA and will act in the best interest of the people of our country. We need action because thoughts and prayers will not stop mass murder.”

From Washington, DC, US Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on Sunday following the recent shootings: “Nowhere but in the United States does this epidemic rate of mass murder occur. My heart goes out to all the victims of gun violence this weekend — in El Paso and Dayton, but also Baton Rouge, Colorado Springs, and New York. What is so heartbreaking is that almost all of this carnage is preventable. Good laws stop bad people from doing horrible things. But many of my colleagues in Congress think that their jobs require them only to express words of sympathy and concern,” said Murphy.

Murphy continued, “Why run for Congress if you aren’t prepared to pass laws that make people safer? Why go through all the trouble of being elected to federal office if you throw your hands up and let evil win? These shooters, contemplating mass slaughter, take note of their government’s inaction, and they infer this silence as endorsement. For every national leader who wakes up Monday and decides to do nothing — again — just know that the blood is soaking deeper into your hands. Maybe we cannot fix the entire gun violence epidemic — which took dozens of other lives this weekend in homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings — overnight, but why don’t we at least try to start? Why sign up for public office if you aren’t going to at least try?”

Sandy Hook Promise also released a statement on August 4: The last seven days of 2019 have been the deadliest for mass shooting deaths in our country recently, claiming the lives of 31 people and leaving 68 more injured, some of whom are fighting for their lives. The victims were going about their daily lives, celebrating at a festival, shopping, out on a Saturday evening. They range in age from 2 to 82 years old. Sandy Hook Promise grieves with the families, communities, and our country, as this week has become another in the “new normal” of gun violence in the United States.

As communities everywhere report feeling helpless, Sandy Hook Promise urges people to recognize that knowing the signs and saying something if one suspects someone is planning an act of violence are proven ways we can prevent further heartbreak.

The Sandy Hook Promise statement continues: “My heart aches as we continue to see communities torn apart by mass shootings. It is critical to know that there are signs — like a hate manifesto, social media posts, and notable fascination with guns — that point to increased potential for violence. We must stay vigilant and say something when we see these warning signals. Our safety lies in our commitment to protecting one another,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

“The more we know the signs and who to tell when we see or hear them, the more successful we can be in stopping violence before it can begin,” Hockley continued. “Sandy Hook Promise’s programs have helped stop school shootings, suicides, and other planned acts of violence because people knew what to look for. We urge communities to come together to have these life-saving discussions.”

To date, more than 7.5 million people nationwide have been trained in Sandy Hook Promise’s proven Know the Signs programs that focus on gun violence prevention by training youth and adults how to identify at-risk behavior and intervene to get help before a tragedy can occur. Through these no-cost programs, Sandy Hook Promise has averted multiple school shooting plots, teen suicides, and countless other acts of violence.

Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) is a national nonprofit organization based in Newtown, led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

On August 5, Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, released the following statement: “Our hearts are breaking for Dayton, El Paso and Gilroy. As of this morning, there have been 255 mass shooting incidents since January 1, 2019 and more than 100 people are killed by guns every single day everywhere in America.

"Tragically, the President has not only failed to take action after many mass shooting incidents on his watch, but his racist rhetoric has fueled mass shooters. Today he blamed this weekend’s shootings on “mentally ill monsters,” recycling the gun lobby’s disproved vilification of a convenient minority," Ms Murray continued. 

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked the background check bill that was passed out of the House of Representatives months ago despite the fact that 97 percent of Americans support universal background checks on gun sales. Many states such as California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and other states have taken action to protect their citizens from gun violence but our state borders are porous.

"We know that our elected leaders can do more to end gun violence in America," Ms Murray concluded. "Elected leaders from all states can pass laws similar to the ones passed in Connecticut after the Sandy Hook tragedy."

Rep Jahana Hayes weighed in, saying in an August 5 statement: “Over the past few days, three cities in the United States have become the latest victims of America’s gun violence epidemic. Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton are in very different parts of the country. But, today, they share the same tragic fate of having to make sense of an entirely senseless act, while grieving for those who will never return home.

“These cities have been added to an ever-growing monument to inaction. When we lost 26 members of our own community, we hoped we would be the last ones to carry this terrible burden. Unfortunately, that has been far from the case.

“Let us call these recent shootings what they are: acts of white nationalism, fueled by an increase in racist and xenophobic rhetoric.

“The problem of gun violence and the problem of white nationalism are inextricably linked, and these tragedies will continue until we put an end to both.”

While the whitehouse.gov had not posted an official statement as of the morning of August 5, numerous news outlets, including The New York Times, CBS, NBC, Axios, and USA Today reported on remarks issued by President Donald Trump, Monday morning. The President urged that the nation “condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy”; cautioned of the “perils” of social media and the internet; and declared “these barbaric slaughters” as an assault on communities, and attack on the nation.

Earlier on Monday, President Trump tweeted, “We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying... this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform. We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!”

In response to the President’s address, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action stated on August 5: “Let’s be clear: This is not about mental health, it’s not about video games, it’s not about movies. Those are all NRA talking points. This is about easy access to guns,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.