Last weekend, while parked in St. Louis, Missouri’s first Black congresswoman’s car was sprayed with bullets. Despite the fact that sources say she was not the original target of the shooting, the lawmaker has received a huge outpouring of sympathy from the public.
While U.S. House Rep. Cori Bush was not in the car when it was shot up and was not hurt, she is still terrified, according to NBC News.
“Experiencing gun violence is all too familiar for far too many of us in St. Louis,” Bush said in a statement shared on Twitter. “Fortunately, no one was hurt. Any act of gun violence, on the other hand, disturbs your soul.”
The progressive diverted attention away from herself and toward a much broader issue.
“No one should have to worry for their safety here in St. Louis,” she said. “That is why our movement works every day to invest in our communities, eliminate the fundamental causes of gun violence, and keep every neighborhood safe.”
According to a person close to her, the shooting, which occurred on the morning of Jan. 22, was not intended for her, but the occurrence is troubling. According to the spokesperson, there was evidence that additional vehicles in the same location of the shooting were tampered with over the weekend.
One Fox News guest described the shooting as a “logical outcome” of Democrats’ efforts to defund the police, which he says they hold. “The brutal truth is that we need the lawmakers to be victims,” New York Police Sgt. Joseph Imperatrice, the founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC, told the host last week.
“Of course, we would never want any violence whatsoever on any American, let alone a politician we disagreed with,” another comment made on broadcast during a segment titled “American’s Crime Crisis.” BUT…”
“This is horrible and disgusting,” Congressman Jamal Bowman of the Bronx said, standing up for his colleague and blasting right-wing Fox mouthpieces.
“We are grateful that Cori is uninjured and safe. That’s all there is to say on the subject. You can all sit there and be angry and hateful for as long as you want. He tweeted, “She’ll keep doing the people’s work with love and passion.”
He wasn’t the only one who was relieved she was safe.
“I love you and I am so sorry you, your family, and crew had to face this just because you stand for justice,” former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner said on Twitter in support of Bush. It’s unclear whether Turner believes the gunshots were aimed at the congresswoman or if she was offering sisterly solidarity after she was attacked by right-wingers, white supremacists, and other groups.
“Oh my God, Congresswoman!” comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted in response to the tragedy. I’m relieved to hear you were unharmed, but I’m sorry you had to go through this ordeal.”
This isn’t the first time Bush’s car has been violated. Her automobile was shot up in 2020. She posted about it on Twitter.
“My car took the gunshots,” she tweeted on June 10, 2020. I am unharmed. It’s not a slogan when I claim that I am the people I serve! On one side of the automobile, a bullet went through my door handle, while on the other side, a round went through my tire. “I’m devoted to moving us from ‘surviving’ to ‘living’ St. Louis.”
The minister and nurse acquired a political voice after becoming a champion for jail reform and ending police violence in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. She was so upset by the Michael Brown slaying that she couldn’t sit still. Brown, an 18-year-old Black kid, was killed barely six minutes away from where the activist lived at the time.
