PHOENIX — The U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis this week, citing the rising statistics of those dying following firearm injuries. Those findings are reflected in Arizona data as well.
An Arizona report found that firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for teens 15-17 and all of the injuries were deemed "preventable" two years in a row.
For some advocates, the declaration could not have come soon enough. Parents Bruce and Claire Petillo lost their son Christian in 2021. The 15-year-old was at a sleepover when the Petillos say the boys found a gun and Christian was shot in the chest.
"You continually feel like you're in a nightmare," Bruce Petillo said.
Prevention specialist Jordona Montano said she noticed the advisory also points to increased rates of suicide, especially among youth.
"We cannot have this conversation about gun violence without talking about mental health," Montano said.
Another Valley advocate, Nesha Higgins, is building a space to combat youth gun violence, and is addressing both mental health and gun violence with her organization, Melabiz Community Hub. The physical space is set to open in August.
"I've lost a worst, 20, 30 kids to gun violence. But what do you expect them to do?" Higgins said. "They don't have help. That's the only thing that they know, and it's passed down."
The Petillos have been trying to get a safe storage law, named "Christian's Law," passed in Arizona for two years.
"This really shouldn't be as controversial as it is," Bruce Petillo said. "There's all the data shows that safe storage saves lives, and it's being responsible and accountable."
The Petillos are hopeful for change, but wary — they are afraid of what will happen if nothing changes, even after the declaration.
"People will die. Kids will die. We've seen countless episodes of school, of elementary school, kids showing up to school with guns in their backpacks," Claire Petillo said. "There have been countless other shootings of kids or kids getting access to guns and shooting each other, shooting else, shooting themselves."
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