Gabby Giffords, gun violence survivors and family members tell their stories at DNC

Bracketed by videos on gun violence in America, survivors and family members of victims told the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night their heart-wrenching stories, one after another.

A woman who lost her daughter at Uvalde. A teacher who hid kids at Sandy Hook. A boy who saw a classmate gunned down. A woman who heard over the phone that her mother had been shot.

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Georgia, whose son was killed in 2012 at a Jacksonville gas station over loud music, said, "I saw firsthand the power of telling our stories."

Sandy Hook teacher Abbey Clements

Abbey Clements was a second-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in 2021.

"Suddenly, a loud crash, like metal folding chairs falling," she said, her voice breaking. "One hundred, fifty-four gunshots blaring. Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds. Terror, crying, running. I carry that horrific day with me.

"Twenty beautiful first-grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed," she said. "They. Should. Still. Be. Here."

Uvalde parent Kimberly Mata-Rubio lost a daughter

"It's 10:30 a.m. at Robb Elementary in Uvalde," said Kimberly Mata-Rubio . "The school is recognizing my 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, for receiving all A's. She receives a good citizen award, and we pose for photos. She wears a St Mary's sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room.

"Thirty minutes later, a gunman murders her 18 classmates and two teachers , we are taken to a private room where police tell us she isn't coming home," she said. "Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again."

South Carolina's Melody McFadden lost her mother

Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina dealt with her loss from a distance.

"My niece, Sandy Patrice, was 22," she said. "She drove to Myrtle Beach for sun and fun and motorcycle parades. Hours later, my phone rang, shooting on the beach. No one can find Sandy. I stayed calm.

"You see, my mother, Patricia Ann, had been shot and killed by an abusive partner. I was calm then, too," she said, describing handling details from hundreds of miles away. "Ten years of waiting, and Sandy's murder is still unsolved. I'll keep calling and I'll keep fighting."

Chicago's Edgar Vilchez saw a classmate shot

"I was in high school when my classmate got shot," Edgar Vilchez said. Vilchez witnessed a drive-by shooting when he was a junior at Intrinsic School in Chicago. "It changed my story. Instead about worrying about taking a test, I started worrying about living to take another test.

"They say schools are for learning, and I did learn a lot that day. I learned how to run, how to hide and drop, that what happens in the news can happen to me, but I learned something else too, that we can write and must write a new story if we choose to," he said.

"Make no mistake, our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve," McBath said.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords makes DNC appearance

In a triumphant appearance that brought the audience to its feet, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords walked to the podium accompanied by her husband, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly .

"For five years. I served in Congress from a swing district, everybody called me a rising star," she said. "Then on January 8, 2011, a man tried to assassinate me . He shot 19 people. He killed six. Terrible, terrible days. I almost died, but I fought for life and I survived. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk again, one word at a time. So many people helped me as I worked hard to recover, including a decent man from Delaware who always checks in.

"He still does," she said, smiling.

Gun control came up in several speeches over the week, from President Joe Biden mentioning the first ban on assault weapons and the need for another, to Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz saying freedom included "our kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall" in his acceptance speech .

Gun violence in Florida

Less than two weeks ago, a half-dozen people — two female, four male, all in their late teens to early 20s — were wounded outside a pop-up, after-hours club in Jacksonville when two to three shooters opened fire, police said.

That brought the Sunshine State's total mass shootings this year to 24, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive . Last year, there were 30 altogether, down from 31 the year before. A recent study from safety product review site SafeHomes.org showed Floridians purchased nearly half a million firearms in the first four months of 2024.

Florida has led the nation all year in mass shootings but recently both Illinois and California have seen more, totalling 28 and 25 respectively. Texas comes next, with 22.

The GVA defines "mass shooting" as one involving four or more people shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter, and does not differentiate based on circumstances.

FBI reports violent crime down from 2023

The total number of mass shootings in the U.S. is down so far from 2023, with 358 as of Aug. 22 according to GVA data, compared to 462 by this time last year.

In July, the FBI announced that violent crime was down so far this year, and 2023 declined from the year before. In its 2024 Quarterly Crime Report and Use-of-Force Data Update , the agency said murder decreased by 26.4%, rape was down by 25.7%, robbery dropped 17.8%, and aggravated assault decreased by 12.5% over 2023, according to preliminary reports.

Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly said at rallies that crime is up in the U.S. but data does not bear that out.

"Guess what?" Biden said Monday night. "On his watch, the murder rate went up 30%, the biggest increase in history. Meanwhile, we made the largest investment, Kamala and I, in public safety, ever. Now, the murder rate is falling faster than any time in history.

"Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level in more than 50 years. And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon," he said.

How many people have died so far from gun violence in the US in 2024?

According to GVA data, as of the evening of Aug. 22:

• 10,931 people have died, including 156 children and 762 teens.
• 21,095 people have been injured, including 375 children and 2,151 teens.
• 277 law enforcement officers have been killed or injured.
• Law enforcement officers have killed 950 people and injured 533 in officer-involved incidents, the only category the GVA lists where the fatalities outnumber the injured.
• 804 people were killed in self-defense.
• 875 people died from unintentional shootings.
• 437 people died in murder/suicide incidents.

The GVA has temporarily stopped reporting total deaths from suicide "until we can get better data" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

How many mass shootings in 2024 happened in Florida?

There have been 24 mass shootings in Florida this year, by the GVA definition:

• Jan. 20, Plantation : Four people were injured in a shooting in front of a Best Buy . One person later died.
• Jan. 20, Palm Bay : A man shot and killed his mother, grandfather and sister and injured his 15-year-old nephew and one other person.
• Jan. 28, Palm Bay : A man shot and killed a priest, the priest's sister, and his own grandfather and injured two police officers.
• Feb. 28: Orlando : An argument over when a vehicle was to be returned resulted in one person killed and six injured.
• March 12, Lawty: Man with knife wound accused of shooting and killing three women .
• March 25, Pompano Beach: A 16-year-old boy and three men were shot by multiple suspects who approached them, deputies said .
• March 31, St. Petersburg: Men arguing outside a restaurant opened fire, injuring three men in their 20s and a 17-year-old girl , police said.
• April 5, Riviera Beach: Four injured in shooting , including a minor.
• April 6, Doral: Man in bar disturbance shoots and kills security officer , six people injured in resulting firefight.
• April 11, Orlando: Deputies responded to a call and found four men shot . One died later.
• April 27, Daytona Beach: A man shot and injured four people during a "physical altercation."
• April 28, Sanford: A 16-year-old shot and injured 10 people at a bar, including Houston Texans' WR Tank Dell.
• April 29, Miami Gardens: Argument about teen fight leaves five people injured , including two teens.
• May 12, Tallahassee: Four people shot in shopping center parking lot , two died.
• May 18, Sarasota: One person killed, four people (including Auburn RB Brian Battie ) were injured.
• May 25, Fort Pierce: Five people aged 15-20 shot at gathering.
• June 2, Pensacola: One person was shot in the foot and three others hit with shrapnel from gunire, police said.
• June 12, Hudson: Man admits to shooting two adults and killing two children, burning all four bodies in fire pit
• June 14, Fort Lauderdale: An apparent drive-by shooting left one person dead and four injured .
• June 23, Tampa: Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio shot and killed , three others injured outside Holiday Inn.
• July 5, Tampa: Security guard, three bystanders injured in altercation.
• July 8, Fort Lauderdale: A driveby shooting left a man and woman dead and three other people, including a 2-year-old, injured.
• July 28, Pensacola: Three killed, five injured when three men opened fire on a group of people playing dice.
• Aug. 10, Jacksonville: Two females and four males in their teens to early 20s were shot and injured outside a pop-up club.

How many mass shootings happened in Florida in 2023?

Florida mass shootings were down slightly last year, with 30 reported in 2023 compared to 31 each year in both 2022 and 2021 and 35 in 2020. During the year, 134 people were injured and 38 were killed.

The GVA (and the Congressional Research Service ) defines a mass shooting only on the number of people shot in an incident: four or more, not including the shooter.

USA TODAY defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are hit with gunfire, even if there are no fatalities. Mass killing refers to an incident in which at least four people are killed.

The FBI does not define "mass shooting" at all. The agency defines "mass killing" or " mass murder " as an incident in which four or more victims are killed by any intentional means, which may include gun violence.

The GVA numbers — which have been disputed by pro-firearm organizations — may differ from the FBI or CDC as they collect data from 7,500 law enforcement, government and media sources, the site explains.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Gabby Giffords, gun violence survivors and family members tell their stories at DNC