Saratoga Springs recognizes gun violence survivor week

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim has announced that the city will recognize the first seven days of February as National Gun Violence Survivor Week.

“By early February, more people are killed with guns in the United States than are killed with guns in any other high-income country in an entire year,” Kim said.

Kim said the majority of Americans or someone they know will experience gun violence in their lifetime ranging from domestic violence situations involving guns to homicides using guns.

The week is an initiative by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which was founded by then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and then-Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in 2006. It started with 15 mayors and has since grown to more than 1,000 current and former mayors from across the nation.

Albany and Schenectady are also listed as coalition members, according to Mayors Against Illegal Gun’s website.

Kim said one of his priorities as mayor is to reduce gun violence, citing the city’s response to the Nov. 20 shooting on Broadway.

In the Nov. 20 incident, Saratoga Springs police officers shot a man numerous times after he failed to lower his weapon, according to police. Three officers were involved in the shooting, according to court documents. The man, who survived but was badly injured, was identified as Vito Caselnova, an off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy. Police have said that Caselnova and a man from Utica were shooting at each other, with the Utica man being struck. He was taken to the hospital along with Caselnova. Both are expected to recover. Caselnova’s girlfriend was also shot and has plans to sue the city, Police Department and officers involved.

“It’s imperative we continue pursuing all avenues available to us to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves or others,” Kim said.

Gun violence also has an economic impact.

“In addition to the lives it devastates, gun violence has an economic impact across our city, our community and our nation,” said Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi.

According to Harvard Medical School researchers, gun violence costs American %557 billion annually.