Good morning, Bulletin readers. In today’s briefing: Chicago families take the state of Illinois to court to demand mitigations to gun violence. Brian Freskos, our Midwest correspondent, has details on the innovative legal fight. Plus, the latest on the standoff that left seven law enforcement officers shot in South Carolina.
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WHAT TO KNOW TODAY
New from The Trace: Chicago parents sue governor over gun violence, arguing that inaction violates kids’ civil rights. The novel suit alleges that the state of Illinois’s failure to curb shootings is afflicting children with PTSD and amounts to a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. “If the recommendations in the complaint are followed through on, you will see a considerable reduction in crime guns that make it into Illinois; you’ll see a considerable reduction in the resultant violence in neighborhoods that affect children and individuals in this city, and their future,” said an ex-ATF agent working with the plaintiffs. “It’s not an unattainable goal.”
More details have emerged on the shooting of seven law enforcement officers in South Carolina. Officials say the deputies were serving a warrant for sexual assault of a foster child at a Florence, South Carolina, home on Wednesday when a 74-year-old man also living in the home opened fire, killing one and wounding six others. The gunman was a Vietnam veteran and disbarred lawyer who posted online frequently about competitive target shooting.
A man has been arrested after threatening to shoot members of Congress. Police say the Florida man threatened to shoot senators and their families depending on their votes on Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. “I can tell it seems I will be sacrificing my life for my country,” he wrote. “But I am ready and will know who needs to be killed after the vote to put Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.”
The ATF has arrested two suspects in connection with a massive gun heist, the agency said Wednesday. On Sunday, federal officials recovered hundreds of guns stolen from a UPS facility in Memphis. The weapons were found in a suburb of Chicago, where they were transported by two men ages 18 and 24. The suspects sold at least three of the stolen weapons for a total of $400, court documents reveal. From The Trace archives: More than half of the illegal guns seized in Chicago come from out of state.
Nevada’s attorney general wants to pour $1 million into state background checks. According to The Nevada Appeal, Adam Laxalt says he wants to put a $1 million settlement fee from Uber into the state’s background check system, which he says is critical for keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. Laxalt previously waged a legal battle against the state’s universal background check initiative, which he has said is unenforceable.
An altercation in Pennsylvania leaves both parties shot with the same gun. The Wednesday night shooting stemmed from an argument near a dollar store. A 40-year-old man drew his gun and shot a 42-year-old, who then retrieved the weapon and shot the other man, killing him.
A 17-year-old was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday. Before the shooting, LaShonda Childs, 17, called the police and told her that her former boyfriend, who had a history of domestic abuse, was in her house with a gun pointed at her current boyfriend’s head. “I’ve got a restraining order on him,” she told the dispatcher. “Can’t you just send somebody out there? I’m scared.” She was shot in the head and later died at the hospital.
NEW from THE TRACE and FIVETHIRTYEIGHT
Chicago’s gun violence crisis, from the perspective of a South Side funeral home. Nydra Sutton, an embalmer at Leak & Sons Funeral Home in Chicago, has observed the city’s gun violence crisis up close for years. Recently, he believes, gunshot wounds have gotten worse. “It seems intentional, so families will not be able to see their loved one with an open casket.” His observation dovetails with the findings of a recent study suggesting that gunshot injuries may be growing more lethal. The nationwide analysis showed that victims are four times more likely to die before reaching a hospital than they were a decade ago.
