Washington stated that the idea for the initiative began to emerge this spring after three Fairfax students committed suicide using firearms. Darryll Pines from the University of Maryland’s College Park campus contacted Washington to discuss ways to prevent gun-related deaths

Pines stated, “We are both engineers.”

They decided to add other campuses to the region and created the 120 Initiative. Leaders said that the name was a solemn nod to the national average of 120 gun deaths per day.

New presidents are elected at George Mason and U.Md. amid national crises

Pines stated that he would like to remove politics from the gun debate and find solutions quickly. He said that officials will have actionable items for the public in the next six to twelve months.