[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H835-H836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR VICTIMS OF KALAMAZOO SHOOTINGS

  (Mr. UPTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, Michigan has had some tough times lately--
Flint and now Kalamazoo--which was rocked this past weekend by terrible 
random acts of violence that took six lives.
  I rise today with my Michigan colleagues to offer support and 
encouragement for the victims' friends and families. We should continue 
to keep them in our hearts and in our minds.
  I want to thank the countless folks on the front lines who helped 
prevent this tragedy from, yes, even being worse. The swift actions of 
those on the ground deserve to be commended, particularly the Kalamazoo 
Sheriff's Department, led by Sheriff Richard Fuller, Kalamazoo Public 
Safety Chief Jeff Hadley, and Mayor Bobby Hopewell.
  I ask my colleagues and those who hear this message across the 
country to pray for the families of the six victims and the recovery of 
the two injured, including 14-year-old Abigail Kopf of Battle Creek, 
who is fighting for her life, and Tiana Carruthers of Richland 
Township, who put herself in front of two children and was shot 
multiple times.
  It is heartbreaking, but we know that our Kalamazoo community can and 
will recover from this tragedy. We will never forget what happened. We 
remember the lives of Mary Lou Nye of Baroda; Mary Jo Nye, Dorothy 
Brown, and Barbara Hawthorne of Battle Creek; and Tyler Smith and his 
dad, Richard Smith, of Mattawan.
  This tragedy will not define us, it will not divide us, and it will 
not defeat us. We are Kalamazoo.
  I ask that the House pause for a moment of silence in honor of those 
impacted by the tragic events in Kalamazoo.

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