[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            BELFAIR SHOOTING

  (Mr. KILMER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILMER. Mr. Speaker, last Friday, in the region I represent, 
tragedy struck the close-knit community of Belfair. A shooting took the 
lives of a family and a neighbor. All the victims were taken too soon 
from this world. Right now, in their place, is heartbreak.
  Since this happened, we have been thinking of the friends and family 
impacted by this shooting. Pastors from North Mason have gathered 
mourners together to offer support and prayers.
  I want to make sure we note the courage of local law enforcement and 
other first responders who came to the scene. The Mason County 
Sheriff's Office, among others, deserves praise for putting their lives 
on the line in confronting the person responsible for this violence and 
responding to an awful situation.
  As a dad of two little girls, it pains me that so many communities 
like ours are faced with tragedies like this. I am hopeful we can come 
together to find ways to stop them.
  The words of Jamie McCallum, a pastor at Belfair Community Baptist 
Church, ring true as we pick up the pieces from this incident. Pastor 
McCallum said:

       Violence and pain may have the strongest voice for the 
     moment, but love and life have the final say.

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