Gov. Shapiro: Gun violence is 'an American problem'

May 1—WILKES-BARRE — If Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis are to be successful in getting more funding approved for fighting gun violence, stories like the one told on Wednesday by Scranton's Kathy Lee Toothill need to repeated over and over.

Toothill, 70, told her story at Wednesday's news conference in the rotunda of the Luzerne County Courthouse and while she spoke, you could hear a pin drop.

"I was shot 12 times with a 22-caliber rifle — six times in my legs, four times in my abdomen, and two times in my left arm," Toothill said. "I had a broken hip, broken arm and numerous internal injuries from the bullets."

Shapiro and Austin were joined by Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Rep. Jim Haddock, Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski and gun violence prevention advocates to highlight the Shapiro Administration's investments in local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute gun violence and make our communities safer.

"With gun violence at unacceptable levels in our communities, now is the time to make investments where it matters," Shapiro said.

The Shapiro-Davis Administration has proposed $100 million in the 2024-25 budget to prevent and reduce gun violence across the Commonwealth — including $37.5 million in Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution (GVIP) grant funding so that Pennsylvanians can be safe and feel safe in their communities.

All of the advocacy was accentuated by Toothill's compelling — and horrific — story.

Toothill said when she was 18, she was walking home from North Pocono High School on March 7, 1972, when a boy she had dated yelled to her. When she turned around, she saw the boy had a gun.

When the boy went to re-load his rifle, he asked Toothill if she had had enough. She said before he could resume shooting, a neighbor arrived and the boy ran away.

"It was a horrible experience," Toothill said. "I have to say that recovering from gun violence is a lifelong process. There was no victim's advocacy back in 1972 — and so we were left to our own devices."

Toothill said after she retired as a drug and alcohol counselor, she decided to join Moms Demand Action and become a fellow of the Everytown Survivor Network.

"I am so glad to hear that there will be money available to help the prosecution and helping people like me who have been victims of gun violence who are now survivors," she said.

Shapiro and Austin said the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) has granted more than $600,000 through the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution (GVIP) program to the Luzerne County District Attorney's office to hire more staff to investigate and prosecute gun violence related crimes in the community.

"All Pennsylvanians deserve to be and feel safe in their communities — that means living in a community free from the crime and violence that have harmed too many families across our Commonwealth," Shapiro said. "Thanks to the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Davis at PCCD, we're already getting resources to our county district attorneys and local law enforcement to help them do the important work of investigating and prosecuting crimes involving gun violence."

Shapiro said he plans to continue to build on that work in his next budget.

"I've proposed $100 million to continue to combat gun violence and to make sure our law enforcement agencies have the tools and personnel they need to make our communities safer," he said.

Austin said to attack the epidemic of gun violence, a comprehensive approach must be taken that addresses the root causes, invests in community-based organizations that are doing violence prevention work and supports law enforcement agencies to help them do the difficult job they've been tasked with in keeping our communities safe.

"In the past six months, we've provided more than $2 million in grants to more than 50 agencies to help them recruit and train high-quality candidates to fill more than 400 vacant officer positions, and we will be providing up to $10 million in grants for local law enforcement agencies to upgrade their data collection and reporting systems," Davis said. "The problem of gun violence isn't just a Philadelphia or Wilkes-Barre problem — it's an American problem."

In 2023 alone, counties that received GVIP funding filed over 8,000 criminal cases involving guns.

District Attorney Sanguedolce said tanks to Gov. Shapiro and previous funding, his office was able to hire a detective that was dedicated to fighting gun violence full time and another detective part time and they have teamed up to make more arrests than ever before.

"It's also partially funded a prosecutor in our office which, as you know, every DA's office across the county is facing funding shortages and facing difficulty hiring prosecutors," Sanguedolce said. "This current funding proposed by the governor is going to allow us to increase personnel dedicated to reducing gun violence to stop unlawful purchases throughout the county and to prosecute the defendants to the fullest extent of the law. We'll be able to provide overtime to municipal police officers who assist our office and engage in sting operations to take illegal firearms out of the hands of criminals where they don't belong."

The Luzerne County DA's office utilized PCCD's GVIP funding for a variety of expenses related to staffing, equipment, and training under the gun prosecution unit and Gun Violence Task Force. Funding was used to expand the gun prosecution unit, adding a full-time detective and assistant district attorney dedicated to prosecuting cases arising out of the unit's efforts.

"Additionally, funding was used for equipment to support the new hires and training for existing and new detectives," Sanguedolce said. "The gun prosecution unit remains busy investigating 'ghost gun' cases and straw purchases within the county."

Sanguedolce said since its inception in 2020, the unit boasts over a 99% conviction rate for persons charged with PICS check violations (i.e., violations of the firearm background check). In the first quarter of 2024, the unit also seized or recovered 16 firearms from persons charged with felony or misdemeanor charges.

Mayor Brown said investigation and prosecution of gun-related crimes requires training, time, and funding. He said the PCCD's Gun Violence and Prosecution Grant Program allows for funding to make these investigations and prosecution possible.

"As Mayor of the City of Wilkes-Barre, I implore the Pennsylvania State Legislature to work with Gov. Shapiro's Administration to again secure funding for this grant program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year," Brown said.

Haddock, D-Pittston Township, said he is ready to go to Harrisburg and fight for the $37.5 million in the state budget that invests more money in keeping the people of Luzerne County safe.

"I know we must support our district attorney and our local law enforcement agencies," Haddock said. "This money is vital. I am ready to fight for more funding for our schools and more funding to create good jobs, and everything else we should be doing to stop gun violence at the source."

Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, added, "We are Americans first and our safety does not have a political party. This money and this program that Gov. Shapiro is bringing forth today is one of those things that's necessary to help all of those that keep us safe every day."

Additionally, the Governor's proposed budget includes a $5 million increase for the Nonprofit Security Grant Fund through PCCD, which supports nonprofits, community centers, faith-based institutions (such as churches, synagogues, and mosques), and other organizations install safety and security measures.

Shapiro and Austin have also called on the General Assembly to strengthen Pennsylvania's laws and pass significant gun reform legislation. Shapiro said he supports the bipartisan bills that empower families and Pennsylvania law enforcement — and he is committed to building a broad coalition to support commonsense gun safety reform to protect communities all across the Commonwealth.

Asked if he feels confident that his budget will pas through the legislature, Shapiro said, "I'm always confident. But this is an issue that should be supported by Democrats and Republicans. We will need bipartisan support to get it across the finish line."

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.