"Access to guns is crazy" — Isaiah Thomas condemns gun violence after 13-year-old dies in Alderwood Mall shooting
Former Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings star Isaiah Thomas had his say on the Alderwood Mall shooting in Lynwood, Washington, on Wednesday. After a fight between two groups broke out in the mall’s food court, a 13-year-old teenage girl who was not involved in the fighting was shot and later died in the hospital.
Isaiah Thomas criticized access to guns and hoped that the shooter would be found soon.
“Damn!!!!!! Access to guns is crazy!!! Prayers to her family. Smh so sad. 🙏🏾 they find the shooter!!!!” Thomas wrote on X.
The suspected shooter is a 16-year-old boy from Edmonds, Washington, who was brought in by the police with his mother and booked for murder. The heart-wrenching tragedy did not have any other victims, and the two groups of teens fled the scene after the girl was shot.
According to Ryan Simms, the police were searching for the teenager who shot the girl. Regardless, the police seem to have moved quickly in the case and have now arrested the shooter.
Alderwood Mall shooting victim dies; shooter brought in by the police
The authorities have moved quickly in the Alderwood Mall shooting case. Several suspects were caught by the mall’s CCTV cameras during the altercation. At least one teenager had access to a gun, which he pulled out and used inside the premises.
However, the 13-year-old victim was not part of the altercation, as the two groups immediately fled the scene after she was hit. The police moved quickly and posted on X at 7:17 pm, asking the public for any information about the incident.
After the girl died in hospital, the Lynnwood Police Department released the following statement:
“The Lynnwood Police Department expresses our deepest sympathy to (the victim's) family and friends for their unimaginable loss due to this senseless act of violence.”
Easy access to guns has been one of the raging issues in the United States, with even teenagers finding themselves with access to weapons without proper background checks or verification, something Isaiah Thomas also hinted at.
The Alderwood Mall shooting is one of a plethora of similar incidents that have occurred across the country, and residents will be hoping that all perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice.