Warriors coach Steve Kerr: Moment of silence not enough for Sacramento shooting victims

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr made a powerful statement about gun violence as his team prepared to play the Kings in the wake of a mass shooting that killed six people and wounded 12 others early Sunday in downtown Sacramento.

Kerr and interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry were both asked about the shooting during their news conferences prior to Sunday’s game at Golden 1 Center, which is three blocks from where the shooting occurred.

“First and foremost, just thinking about the city of Sacramento and all the families who are affected — the victims, the survivors, the people who were injured — just so many lives devastated, and so everybody with the Warriors, we all share in your city’s grief,” Kerr said. “There’s not a whole lot you can do or say, but we’re all crushed today as we try to prepare for this game, so it’s just devastating news.”

The Kings held a moment of silence for the victims before the game. Kerr, whose father was gunned down in Beirut in 1984, said that is not enough.

“I know we’ll have a moment of silence before the game, and I think it’s the right thing to do to have a moment of silence, but I’ll be honest,” Kerr said. “It’s probably the ninth or 10th moment of silence I’ve experienced as coach of the Warriors when we mourn the losses of our people who have died in mass shootings, so I don’t think moments of silence are going to do anything. At some point, our government has to decide: Are we going to have some commonsense gun laws? It’s not going to solve everything, but it will save lives.”

California’s gun control laws are among the strictest in the nation, but that didn’t prevent gunfire from erupting as people exited bars and nightclubs shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday near 10th and K streets in downtown Sacramento.

“Obviously, it’s an incredible tragedy,” Gentry said. “I hope it doesn’t put a black eye on our city because I think it’s a great place to be and a great place to live. It’s unfortunate that something like that can still happen nowadays in an environment where everyone’s trying to have a good time. … It’s a sad day. It’s a really sad day. And I hope this is not something that our city is remembered for because it’s a great place with a lot of great people who live here.”

Kerr knows all too well that gun violence can happen anywhere.

“This happens in churches. It happens in schools. It happens right downtown here in Sacramento,” Kerr said. “A couple years ago, a madman sat in a hotel room in Las Vegas and opened fire with semiautomatic fire on people at a concert. … It’s just the same stuff over and over and over again.

“It’s so devastating, and, again, I’m so, so sorry for the victims and their families. My family has gone through the same thing. We know how devastating it is. It’s just life changing. Everything changes from here for all the victims’ families, and it’s just time. It’s time for us to do something about it instead of have another moment of silence and then send thoughts and prayers.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Warriors coach Steve Kerr: Moment of silence not enough for Sacramento shooting victims."

Jason Anderson

The Sacramento Bee

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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.