By Moira Warburton and Rose Horowitch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Executives from major gunmakers will testify on Wednesday before a U.S. House panel investigating recent mass shootings in Texas and New York.
The hearing, conducted by the House Oversight committee, “will examine the responsibility the gun industry has in contributing to the epidemic of gun violence in the United States and the steps Congress can take to hold manufacturers,” Speaker Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement.
Confirmed witnesses include Christopher Killoy, President and CEO of Sturm, Ruger & Co Inc and Marty Daniel, CEO of Daniel Defense LLC. Mark P. Smith, Chairman and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc, is listed as a guest.
The committee sought answers from each of the executives following the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.
The shootings, which took place just 10 days apart in May, killed 31 people and rocked a country known for its high rate of gun violence.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton and Rose Horowitch in Washington; editing by Richard Pullin)