Local advocate and mom calls for change in gun violence following mass shooting in Boone County

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A shooting that happened Sunday morning at a vacant home in Boone County raised questions for local advocacy groups in Columbia.

The shooting left a 17- and 16-year-old dead and injured four others. The Boone County Sheriff's Office said the shooting happened after an argument at a vacant home in Boone County led to gunshots. No suspect information is available at this time

Moms Demand Action is a movement that aims to minimize and protect people from gun violence in America. Kristin Bowen is a volunteer and the mom of two teenage boys who live in Columbia.

"I think that's what tragic is that you know kids have always wanted to go and socialize what's different right now is the easy access to firearms that makes these parties lethal," Bowen said.

According to the gun violence archive, these teens are among the 250 mass shootings in America this year, and apart of the 650 teen deaths as a result of a shooting. Bowen said it's unacceptable and hard to think that parents can no longer feel safe allowing their children to hangout in social settings.

"As adults in our community, we should feel like when we send our kids out to be social on a weekend evening that they're safe from a horrific mass shooting event," Bowen said. "And unfortunately in Missouri, that's not the case right now."

Bowen also said that the group's next steps are to make sure people are educated about the importance of practicing gun safety, especially if children are in the home.

Check back for updates to this developing story.