a reminder of why agents risk their lives and why everyone at ATF dedicates their careers to this mission: to honor the fallen and protect the living,” said ATF Director Dettelbach. “This exhibit both honors and tells the stories of the victims of firearms violence. And it reminds us to keep front and center the lives, the stories, and the courage of those who have been impacted by firearms violence.”
The “Faces of Gun Violence” exhibit consists of a wall and digital kiosk. The wall consists of 118 photos of people who have been killed by gun violence in, among other incidents, mass casualty events, such as school shootings; community shootings; domestic violence shootings, and by suicide. The photographs on the wall will stay up for one year, until another 118 photographs take their place at next year’s Gun Violence Survivors’ Summit.
Alongside the wall is the digital kiosk, which contains the same photographs with accompanying short biographies for each person. The kiosk will remain for the foreseeable future, and new photos and bios will be added after each year’s dedication on a rolling basis as they are submitted.
The dedication was the final event of the day, concluding ATF’s Inaugural Gun Violence Survivors’ Summit, which brought together more than 200 survivors of gun violence, members of law enforcement, U.S. Attorneys, health care professionals, and victim advocates. The Summit included remarks by Deputy Attorney General Monaco and San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan, as well as a number of panel discussions that focused on experiences of survivors of gun violence, firearms and domestic violence, law enforcement as survivors, and the effects of secondary trauma.
By sharing experiences, discussing the toll gun violence takes on lives, and learning about ATF’s mission and efforts to respond and prevent violent crime, the Summit increased understanding and transparency.