Jewish Rampage Survivor Issues Gun Control Call
Mission in Life: Joshua Stepakoff talks about his campaign to curb gun violence. Image by nbc news
Joshua Stepakoff was just 6 years old when he was shot and wounded in a 1999 shooting rampage at his suburban Los Angeles preschool.
Now 19, he wants to know why more hasn’t been done to curb gun violence in America.
“If now is not the right time, when is? People are shot every day… People need to realize this,” Stepakoff told NBC News.
Stepakoff was attending a day camp at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills when a disturbed gunman with a semi-automatic rifle burst into the lobby.
The gunman fired dozens of rounds, hitting an adult employee, a 16-year-old counselor, and three children, including Stepakoff, who was shot in the lower leg and hip.
All of the victims recovered.
Stepakoff, now a college student, spoke out after the shooting spree that left 28 people dead in Newtown, Conn.
He called on lawmakers to restore the lapsed federal restriction on the sale of assault weapons; and strengthen pre-sale background checks.
“I think some changes could be made without truly interfering with Second Amendment rights,” he told NBC.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
