Hotline for mass shooting prevention launches in Davie

By Jules Batchker •

On April 6, two people were killed and seven others were injured in a shooting at CityPlace Doral. In the wake of recent tragedies that have rattled communities across the nation, preventing mass shootings has become a massive social concern, prompting people like Sean Canonie of Davie to take action.

Canonie launched the first mass shooting prevention call center in January. By calling 605-667-4668, those considering this act of violence can speak with trained calltakers. People who suspect someone is planning a mass shooting can also call the hotline and report anonymously. The hotline is headquartered in Davie and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, a mass shooting is an event where at least one attacker injures/kills four or more people with a firearm in the same general area and time. It reports that there have been more than 120 mass shootings in the United States in 2024. Eleven of those were in Florida.

For Canonie statistics like these are frustrating because he believes that mass shootings are preventable.

“If we can get to the shooter, we can de-escalate and bring them services, ” Canonie said.

Debbie Espinoza, a former Broward County public school teacher, works with Canonie on the hotline. Espinoza finds it especially devastating that mass shootings have been normalized for young people.

“It is really upsetting to me that [young people] are being raised in a time where everywhere they go, they have to watch for this type of activity—a club, a church, the mall, a concert, school, the grocery store,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza stressed that there needs to be more resources for people thinking about carrying out acts like mass shootings.

“We can offer a non-judgmental person to say, ‘listen, we hear you, we see you, there’s value in you, there’s value in your life, it’s not going to solve any type of problem that you have,'” she said.

Danielle Rittman, senior accounting major at Florida State University, survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting on Feb. 14, 2018. Seventeen students and staff lost their lives.

Rittman liked the idea of a preventative hotline, but expressed that further government action is also needed.

“I think a hotline is a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough,” she said.

She feels politicians in Florida are ignoring the problem for profit.

“If politicians can focus more on the tragedies that have occurred rather than money in their pocket from the NRA [National Rifle Association] or from different lobbyists, they maybe can accept that it’s happening and do something about it,” she said. “It could be their children or grandchildren one day.”

In April 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 543, a bill permitting adults aged 18 and older to purchase firearms without background checks, training or licensure.

Alexis Lass, senior political science major, thinks Florida politicians have failed survivors in the years following the tragedy at Douglas.

“Setting more stringent policy on who has the right to own a gun is probably the most effective way to prevent mass shootings, but the most difficult way because no one can agree,” Lass said.

She agrees with Rittman that a hotline is just the beginning of a bigger solution.

“I don’t think a hotline is enough,” she said. “I do think it’s a start, but it comes down to effective policy and legislation.”

Lass encouraged students who wish to see changes in gun control policy to vote in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

“People need to vote this election because the president that’s in office will determine the type of legislation that’s going through the house and the senate,” she said.