[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19007]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   COMMENDING MONTGOMERY COUNTY FIRST RESPONDERS, POLICE, AND RESCUE 
 PERSONNEL, AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THEIR RESPONSE TO 
                               SHOOTINGS

  (Mrs. MORELLA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, our thoughts, our hearts, and our prayers 
go out to the victims and the families of those five people who were 
senselessly gunned down last night and today in Montgomery County, 
Maryland.
  The tales of these tragic shootings are still emerging. At this 
point, we do not know who has perpetuated these crimes, and we do not 
know the twisted motivation. What we do know is that this senseless 
violence has touched all segments of our community: women and men, 
African Americans, white, Hispanic, the old, the young.
  I recognize this is a very difficult, scary time for our community, 
but I want to commend our Montgomery County first responders, our 
police, our rescue personnel. They are doing a terrific job under the 
most difficult, extreme circumstances.
  I want to acknowledge all of the agencies involved in this 
preliminary investigation, local, State, District of Columbia, the FBI, 
the Secret Service. Homeland Security contacted our county also to 
offer their assistance.
  Indeed, I will work to engage and ensure that my local community 
receives all of the Federal help that they may need.
  I also want to recognize the Montgomery County Public Schools for 
their prudent, responsible actions today to keep our students safe and 
sound. The best thing we can do now is remain calm, but aware and 
vigilant, and report any suspicious activities to the police.

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