The Campaign Mourns Jackson State University Student Jaylen Burns – Another Young Life Lost to Campus Gun Violence

For Immediate Release
October 19, 2023

(Croton Falls, NY): According to news accounts, this past Sunday, Jaylen Burns, a student at Jackson State University, was shot and killed while trying to break up a fight that took place in university housing.

Andy Pelosi, Executive Director of The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus issued the following statement in response to Sunday’s shooting death at Jackson State University:

“The Campaign To Keep Guns Off Campus is saddened to learn of the shooting death of Jackson State University Student and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity member Jaylen Burns, a Chicago native – gunned down in his college residence hall.

“While the investigation continues on this Mississipi campus, we echo the state’s US Representative Bennie Thompson who was quoted in Mississippi Today saying ““I’m not certain that in the greatest democracy, in America, that we just ought to walk around with guns on our hip just because some folks said we can do it. In a civilized society, I’m convinced we can do better.”

“Acting President Elayne Hayes-Anthony of Jackson State University issued this important message upon the death of Jaylen Burns: https://www.instagram.com/p/CygQyZ-OFRV/

“The Campaign cannot overstate the urgent need to commit to doing everything we can legislatively and culturally to protect all people from the scourge of gun violence that is killing over 40,000 Americans every year.  Our institutions of education, whether they be pre-school, K-12, college or university, must be safe havens for learning. We cannot allow campus firearm incidents to become normalized events and we cannot expect our students to continue to be traumatized by these events.  Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to die from gun violence and 14 times more likely than white Americans to be wounded (Giffords Law Center). According to the Violence Policy Center, in 2021, Mississippi is ranked #l in the 50 states with a gun death rate of 32.61 per 100,000 people.  Not coincidentally, Mississippi also has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the nation. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens across America.”