U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced the Safe Summer 2024 program at a press conference Thursday afternoon. Totten said gun violence is now the leading cause of death for youth in America.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office will federally prosecute all cases that satisfy two criteria:
“First of all, the case involves a federal firearms offense. Now, there’s a long list of what counts as a federal firearms crime. Two of the most common ones are felon in possession and possessing a machine gun.”
A machine gun can include any gun that has been equipped with a conversion device, also known as a switch.
“The second criteria: any gun that has been fired previously in the commission of a crime regardless of whether the person who now possesses the gun is the person who previously fired it in the commission of a crime.”
The announcement comes in the wake of two shootings in Grand Rapids. A 15-year-old was killed while riding a scooter downtown and, in another, an eighth-grade student from Alger Middle School was injured when he was shot in the face during an accidental shooting.
“We’re never going to prosecute our way out of the gun violence epidemic. This program is not offered as a cure-all. It is one part of a much larger solution.”
Police chiefs from Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Muskegon Heights all pledged their support for the program. It runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
You can view the press conference here.
