America has already had more than 200 mass shootings 159 days into the year. Leaders and young people across the country are demanding change today, including in the Bronx where a rally was held in honor of 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo.
It’s been two months since Yambo was shot and killed while walking home from school. Her death, and those of many others, spurred lawmakers and young people to plan several actions Wednesday, including the march outside of Yambo's school.
Since her death, New York has passed a bundle of legislation that strengthens the state’s already strict gun laws.
South Bronx students marched alongside Rep. Ritchie Torres and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson to call for an end to gun violence in schools. Emotions ran high at the rally where the teen's loved ones had one message: Enough is enough.
But in the months since Angellyh was killed, more violence has broken out across the country - from a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo to a school shooting in Uvalde that killed 19 third and fourth graders.
Some leaders have been calling on action at the federal level. The House of Representatives is expected to debate the Protecting Our Kids Act, which in part would raise the age to get semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21.
Both of the alleged shooters in Uvalde and Buffalo were 18 years old and are believed to have used semi-automatic rifles in the massacres.
Mayor Eric Adams will be testifying before Congress Wednesday about gun violence. The mayor has tried to battle guns in the city since taking office through actions like increasing police patrols and expanding youth programs.