Pontiac, MI – Oakland County Prosecutor KAREN D. McDONALD convenes the first of its kind Commission of community stakeholders and experts to develop an evidence-based curriculum to prevent gun violence and mass shootings.

America is in crisis. This year, not a single week has gone by without at least four mass shootings. In 2020, firearm related injuries surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Over 40,000 people are losing their lives each year to gun violence. On November 30th, 2021 Oakland County joined the growing list of communities across our nation devastated in the wake of a mass shooting.

While mass shootings are becoming increasingly common in America, for every person killed in a mass shooting in 2020, another 85 died from other forms of gun violence. Like many communities across our nation, Pontiac is facing an unprecedented spike in gun violence. In March, a 7-year-old child was killed in a drive-by shooting. Our office continues to see the effects of this unprecedented spike in gun violence across Oakland County so today Prosecutor McDonald is taking action to prevent gun violence and ensure public safety for all Oakland County residents.

Prosecutor McDonald has asked the group to develop a data-driven approach to combating gun violence in Oakland County and beyond. The Commission is composed of key community stakeholders, experts, and individuals who have been impacted by gun violence. Beyond examining the events of November 30th, 2021 at Oxford High School, the Commission will have three main focus areas. First, the Commission will scrutinize the threat assessment model in Oakland County. Second, the Commission will investigate and provide recommendations on both hard and soft components of preventing gun violence. Third, they will work to develop a model for training kids and adults to identify individuals in crisis and ways to take meaningful action to prevent violence from occurring.

Commission Members include, listed in order of formation:

• Jim Etzin, Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Oakland County Tactical Training Consortium
• Thom Hardesty, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Oakland County;
• Dr. Vasilis K. Pozios, Chief Medical Officer Oakland Community Health Network;
• Gary Sikorski, Director of Community-Wide Security, Jewish Community Security, on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit;
• Susan Benson, Director Specialized Student Support Oakland Schools;
• Heather Murphy, School Safety Specialist, National Center for School Safety, Prevention Research Center at the University of Michigan;
• Dr. Melissa Reeves, Nationally Certified School Psychologist and Past-President of the National Association of School Psychologists;
• Lt. Tim Willis, Special Investigations Unit, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office;
• Mary Schusterbauer, retired Chief of Oakland County Youth Assistance;
• Dr. Peggy Nowak, Neurosurgery and Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital;
• Charlie Cavell, District 18 Commissioner, Oakland County Board of Commissioners;
• Dr. Frank Straub, Director of National Policing Institute’s Center for Targeted Violence Prevention;
• Dr. Alyse Ley, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Psychiatry at Michigan State University;
• Nicole Hockley, Co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise;
• Michael Spisz, District 3 Commissioner, Oakland County Board of Commissioners;
• Dr. Marc Zimmerman, Marshall H. Becker Collegiate Professor Co-Director, Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education Department of Psychology Combined Program in Education and Psychology, University of Michigan
• Thomas Teves, Father of Alex Teves who was murdered in the Aurora theater shooting, and Co-Founder of No Notoriety;
• Dr. Makenzie Schiemann, President, National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment;
• Nicholas McIntyre, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office;
• Rev. Kevin Sanders, Associate Pastor and Behavior Specialist for Pontiac Public Schools;
• Deleah Sharp, Founder, Identify Your Dream;
• Pastor Derrick McDonald, Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, Pontiac, MI
• Debra Rivera Ehrmann, Vice President Centro Multicultural La Familia, Pontiac, MI
• Kimberly Root, Section Manager Office of School Safety, Michigan State Police

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CONTACT: Betsey Hage, hageb@oakgov.com