New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Gov. Ned Lamont and State Rep. Toni Walker joined members of the New Haven Citywide Student Council on Monday for a roundtable discussion on gun violence at the Metropolitan Business Academy, an interdistrict magnet school. A photo caption accompanying the report dates the event to Sept. 28, 2026.
Lamont, Elicker join New Haven students for gun violence roundtable
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Gov. Ned Lamont and State Rep. Toni Walker joined members of the New Haven Citywide Student Council on Monday for a roundtable discussion on gun violence at the Metropolitan Business Academy, an interdistrict magnet school. A photo caption accompanying the report dates the event to Sept. 28, 2026.
Elicker told the few dozen student council members that gun violence may be in the midst of a yearslong decline, but that no lives lost is acceptable. "We know we have a lot more work to do," he said. "We've lost, in addition to many adults to gun violence, many young people to gun violence as well. You all know some of these names. We have lost too many young people to gun violence."
Earl Bloodworth, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said homicides and violent crime have been trending down, and said the increase in suicides was a concern. He said older white men, young minorities, veterans, and active and retired police officers were especially at risk. "There is still a lot of work to be done," he said. "I look forward to the day when we don't have to do this at all."
Lamont said government often does things that sound good but ultimately do not matter very much, while gun safety laws, he said, make an enormous difference. "We are one of the safest states in the United States of America," Lamont said. "New Haven … things are getting safer. And I think our gun safety laws make an enormous difference."
In breakout sessions, students told state and municipal officials what they thought would matter most; for many, it comes down to listening. One student spoke about feeling undervalued in the community, saying that when people look for support and cannot find it, the community on the street that does not promote wellbeing or a fruitful lifestyle becomes their only way of life. Group members agreed that childhood neglect can also drive young people toward violence, with another student saying that life in the streets provides community when other sources do not.
- The source does not state the specific homicide, violent crime, or suicide figures behind the trends it describes, nor the period those trends cover.
- The source does not state how many students attended, describing the audience only as a few dozen members of the New Haven Citywide Student Council.
- The source does not name the students who spoke during the roundtable.
- The source does not state what, if any, commitments or next steps officials made after the breakout sessions.
- The source does not state which advocacy groups beyond Connecticut Against Gun Violence took part.
- The article text does not give the date of the roundtable; the accompanying photo caption dates it to Sept. 28, 2026.
Read the original at CT News Junkie