Oh, yeah.

You're welcome to sit.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Anyone who would like to take a seat, we welcome you to come join us.

I'm just here to kick us off.

Good morning.

I'm Senese, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Fort Worth.

Here to give you all a little bit of run of show and let you know what we have planned for this morning.

You'll hear from Mayor Parker this morning, Chief Garcia and Dr.

Daniel Guzman.

He's a physician and medical director for Cook Children's Center for Community Health.

Our partner organizations are Cook Children's, ATF, Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, and various school districts.

We have some tables set up behind you.

We have information that Cook Children's has provided that our team has provided in partnership with the police department.

And then after the press conference, Officer Buddy Calzada will be providing media with demonstrations on gun locks.

So we have several gun locks for you to take home with you today.

We have various guns to show you how they can be stored properly.

So you'll hear about our big illegal gunfire campaign, education campaign that is kicking off today.

And thank you all for being here.

I'm gonna go ahead and hand it off to Mayor Parker.

Good morning.

Thank you all for taking time to be here on such an important topic.

Illegal gunfire is certainly putting our residents in our city at risk, forcing families to absolutely live in fear.

We know that it is dangerous, it is illegal, and it is absolutely preventable, and it will not be tolerated here in the city of Fort Worth.

Today, the city is launching a very important citywide public education campaign focused on the dangers of illegal gunfire and the critical importance of reasonable and responsible gun ownership.

My council members are here with me today to show their continued support for this initiative.

Many have felt the impact of illegal gunfire personally.

Councilmember Mia Hall, who represents District 6, recently called for action after a resident was killed in her district by a stray bullet coming through her home.

And of course, our mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores, his own mother, survived being shot after a stray bullet entered her home as well just a few years ago.

As we head into the summer months, our goal is very clear.

Reduce stray bullet incidents, protect our neighborhoods, and save lives of our Fort Worth residents.

I'm joined here today by council members that understand this issue is citywide.

It is not just confined by one neighborhood or one district because we understand that everyone across Fort Worth, every single zip code, and every single family member really are impacted.

But of course, importantly, you may be asking why do you also see illegal firework signs here as well?

These campaigns started many years ago.

Both Cindy and Tortier here from District 5, starting by asking questions about why my neighborhood are illegal fireworks going off.

Then they started asking questions about illegal gunfire.

They ask questions about street racing.

Because the theme here today is safety for every single resident.

There's power and voices from our community.

So to Torchi and Cindy, thank you so much for your tenacity around this subject.

I know that our late Mayor Pro Tem Gina Bivens would also be incredibly proud.

To all of my council members, thank you.

Each of you have raised this issue time and time again.

You're holding the police department accountable.

You're spending time in your town halls to meet with residents, using your own networks, because we really do need all hands on deck to make this illegal gunfire campaign possible.

Here are some statistics that are incredibly sobering that know Chief Garcia will also hit upon.

Arrests related to illegal gunfire increased by 28% between 2024 and 2025.

But comparing January and February over the last three years, arrests tied to illegal gunfire rose 115% between 2024 and 2026.

Nationally, as many as one-third of celebratory gunfire injuries are fatal.

Think about that.

There is no such thing as an appropriate way to fire a gun aimlessly into the air.

That bullet goes somewhere.

And over one-third of those gunfire fatalities happen unnecessarily.

And they're happening right here in the city of Fort Worth.

As you can tell by the statistics I mentioned, our department, the Fort Worth Police Department, takes illegal gunfire incredibly seriously, and they will continue to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law here in the city of Fort Worth.

Again, our message is simple.

Fort Worth is united taking action against illegal gunfire.

We are committed to protecting our residents, supporting our neighborhoods, and preventing these needless tragedies before they ever happen.