Jazz guard: 'If there are stricter gun laws, then people won't do it'

Phoenix • The Utah Jazz practiced behind drawn black curtains Friday morning, temporarily shielding the team of men, many fathers of young children, unaware as details emerged of a school shooting in Connecticut.

"My daughter's in preschool," Jazz guard Randy Foye said. "My daughter is 4 years old. ... That hit home hard."

According to media reports, a shooter opened fire in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., leaving 27 dead, including 18 children.

Foye runs a foundation for children in his native New Jersey. It monitors their academic progress to keep them in school. As the Jazz practiced, a representative of Foye's foundation tweeted from the @TeamFoye account, "Again I will tweet, for the third time this year, when is someone going to do something about gun control?"

Foye agreed with that sentiment, saying, "I feel as though something needs to be done. Too many incidents are happening ... [including] the guy in Colorado, the situation with the guy for the Chiefs [Jovan Belcher], the situation today. Something has to happen.

"If there are stricter gun laws, then people won't do it. If they do it they know the consequences as soon as they're caught."

The Jazz play the Suns Friday at 7 p.m. Following their morning shoot-around, team members took to social media as details of the shooting emerged.

Jazz point guard Mo Williams, a father of four who also runs a foundation aimed to help children, tweeted: "Man come in [sic] now!!! There are some sick people in this world. I have a kindergardener [sic]."

Jazz CEO Greg Miller tweeted, "Prayers on behalf of and love to the families of the victims in Newtown."