Buffalo, Uvalde mass shooting survivors to testify on Capitol Hill

Survivors and families of the victims in the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings will testify next week on Capitol Hill in front of the House Oversight Committee. 

Those set to speak next Wednesday include Miah Cerrillo – a fourth-grader at Robb Elementary who reportedly smeared blood on herself and went into “survival mode” during the Uvalde mass shooting – and Zeneta Everhart, whose son was injured inside the Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. 

“This hearing is ultimately about saving lives, and I hope it will galvanize my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation to do just that,” Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said in a statement.

“Our hearing will examine the terrible impact of gun violence and the urgent need to rein in the weapons of war used to perpetrate these crimes,” she added. “It is my hope that all my colleagues will listen with an open heart as gun violence survivors and loved ones recount one of the darkest days of their lives.”

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“On May 27, 2022, the Committee sent letters to five leading manufacturers of semi-automatic rifles for information related to the manufacture, marketing, and sales of their weapons, to understand how these guns are fueling the gun violence epidemic and to inform gun safety legislation,” it also said in the statement.

Other people set to testify include the parents of Uvalde student Alexandria Aniyah Rubio – who was killed in the attack — Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde and Joseph Gramaglia, the commissioner of the Buffalo Police Department. 

Congress, meanwhile, is working to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings, which killed 10 and 21 people, respectively. 

President Biden on Thursday said the Second Amendment is “not absolute,” pleading with Congress to pass what he called “commonsense” gun control legislation, including reinstating an assault weapons ban, requiring background checks, and limiting magazine capacity. 

In a House Judiciary committee meeting Thursday, Democrats also railed against the NRA, Republicans, assault weapons and the Senate as they expressed outrage that the U.S. doesn’t have tighter gun laws. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Tyler Olson, Adam Sabes and Ashely Papa contributed to this report.