Rep. Chu Calls For Peace, Calm, and Unity

Washington, DC – On Thursday night, a peaceful protest in response to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile turned deadly as five Dallas, TX police officers were killed and seven others wounded by at least one sniper. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement:

“The past few days have been days of unimaginable hurt across our country. Each day, we have woken to the news of the latest tragedy. First, two young men were shot seemingly without reason by those meant to protect them. And then last night’s horrific scene in Dallas left five police officers dead. I am heartbroken and resolved to ending this cycle of pain.

“My thoughts are with the families of those brave Dallas police officers, as well as the families of Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile. But, as we mourn, we must remember that we do not mourn murder through murder. Nor do we create justice through injustice. Now is the time for all of us to come together.

“Now is the time to end the division and being the healing. To prevent more pain in the future, we must look at the root cause of these deaths. But we must not let our outrage turn into violence. Too often, we have seen how easily entire communities can be torn apart by a single person with hate in their heart and the means to carry it out.

“In the coming days, weeks, and months, we must focus on how we can come together and create more trust between the police and the communities they protect. That trust is essential to the future of our nation.”