[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H863-H864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AUTUMN JOHNSON KILLED BY GUN VIOLENCE

  (Ms. HAHN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)

[[Page H864]]

  

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, on the evening of February 9, this little 
precious angel, 1-year-old Autumn Johnson, was in her crib when a 
gunman approached her family's Compton home and opened fire on the 
converted garage where they lived.
  Autumn was struck by a single bullet to her head. Two sheriff's 
deputies on the scene didn't think they could wait for the paramedics 
and rushed little Autumn in her father's arms to the hospital in their 
squad car. She was declared dead at the hospital.
  Yesterday sheriffs arrested her suspected killer. The motive is still 
unknown, but law enforcement suspects gang involvement. I hope that 
justice is served, but I know that nothing can make up for what 
Autumn's parents have lost.
  I attended her funeral on Saturday, and my heart broke into a million 
pieces when I saw Autumn in her little lavender casket. Before she was 
buried, her young father put her pink teddy bear in beside her.
  When is the breaking point? When will we decide that our communities 
have seen enough bloodshed? When will we get serious about investing in 
our young people and giving them better opportunities than gangs? When 
will we in Congress finally do our part to prevent gun violence?
  Autumn's life mattered, and it is time we started acting like it.

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