We must stop gun violence

We've become desensitized over the past decade as we hear about random shootings every day occurring throughout the U.S. We'll express sorrow for the shooting victims at our breakfast table or at the office coffeemaker and then be grateful that we live in a safe community. An hour later, we will forget about the tragedies elsewhere as we engage in our regular routines. We take it for granted that we're immune from random gun violence in Placer County. Some of us are even smug that it won't happen here. But then there's April 6, 2023 at Mahany Park on Pleasant Grove Boulevard in Roseville. Who would have expected a park visit on a beautiful spring day in peaceful Roseville would result in tragedy after a stranger took two hostages, killing the husband, and also injuring a CHP officer? Mahany Park visitors on April 6 will never forget that day when they were terrified for their lives by someone with no regard for human lives. As Roseville children played there and other residents relaxed at the park or brought their dogs to the dog park, their visit was unexpectedly shattered by gunshots buzzing around them. The park visitors' safe, serene place resembled a war zone after a suspect, who allegedly ran from law enforcement after being served a CHP search warrant for his residence and car, then shot the two hostages. It was a surreal April 6 afternoon. Teens described the bullets flying as terrifying while they were moments before playing ball. Other park visitors described the fear of not knowing if they would safely return home from the park, an assumption they never worried about before. The rest of us were glued to our TV screens that night in shock as we watched videos of firefighters and police tending to the injured and trying to detain the suspect. Sadly, April 6, 2023 isn't an isolated random shooting here. On Jan. 15, 2019, south Placer residents were terrorized when Stanley Stepanski III from Montana on a random shooting spree killed Mary Toste at her Penryn house. Stepanski III also shot several times into a vehicle containing a father and his 11-year-old daughter near Taylor and King roads in Loomis. The father survived but sustained serious injuries. Stepanski III also brandished a firearm at a convenience store on Sierra College Boulevard near Interstate 80. When he crashed his vehicle on Interstate 80 and Highway 65 in Roseville, Stepanski III was fatally shot by officers as he confronted deputies. Stepanski III had no known connections to this area. But he was known to law enforcement where he lived in Florence, Montana. In September 2017, Stepanski III was arrested on a felony charge of assaulting his mother with a weapon after he allegedly became angry that she didn't give him $400. Two months later, Stepanski III was arrested again after allegedly slugging a man in the back of the head in a bar, knocking him out and then fleeing in a vehicle. The April 6 suspect at Mahany Park was served a search warrant April 6 in connection to a freeway shooting in Sacramento, according to CHP. Obviously, Stepanski III and the April 6 shooter never should have been allowed to own weapons. How many times do we have to demand that guns be removed from those who are a danger to others? The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to own guns if the person might hurt others. Those who have anger issues, are mentally ill, have committed crimes or who possess a danger to others don't have that right. And yet many of them own weapons. As reported in 2020 in CalMatters, a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization: one of four California gun owners bought their firearms without undergoing background checks. The background checks are to block individuals from owning guns if they have a criminal history, have committed acts of domestic violence or have a history of mental illness, according to CalMatters. About two in three adults prioritize controlling gun ownership, while one-third said protecting gun ownership rights is more important, according to a July 2022 statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. In addition, seven in 10 adults are concerned about the threat of a mass shooting in their area, according to the July 2022 statewide survey. We must never forget what Mahany Park visitors had to experience April 6 by the actions of another resident who had no right to have a gun. We must make it our top priority that guns are finally removed from those who should not have them. Otherwise, we accept that random shootings will remain a part of daily life. Aren't we better than this mentality? This can't go on anymore. Not in our front yard. Not in our backyard. Not in our schools. Not in our stores. Not in our parking lots. And not in our parks. Not in Placer County and not anywhere else.