U.S. House panel asks gunmaker CEOs to testify amid mass shootings

[July 07, 2022]   WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House Oversight Committee has called on the chief executives of three gunmakers to testify on July 20 as part of its investigation into the firearms industry following a wave of high-profile mass shootings, the panel said on Thursday.

Victims and survivors of gun violence wait to testify before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. June 8, 2022. Jason Andrew/Pool via REUTERS

The CEOs of Smith & Wesson Brands, Sturm, Ruger & Co as well as privately held Daniel Defense were sent letters on Wednesday requesting their appearance, the Washington Post reported.

Representatives of the gun manufacturers could not be immediately reached for comment on the House's request.

The panel, in publicly announcing the request in a Twitter post, cited Monday's mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois in which a lone alleged gunman killed at least seven people and wounded dozens of others using a high-powered rifle.

Last month, lawmakers on the panel heard from victims and relatives of mass shootings in May at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

The oversight panel has also asked five gunmakers for manufacturing, marketing and sales data.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Susan Heavey; Editing by David Goodman and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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