N.T. Shields; Gun Control Leader

Nelson T. (Pete) Shields, who helped found the nation’s largest handgun control movement after his son became the 25th and final victim of the infamous Zebra shootings of the 1970s, died Monday.

A spokeswoman for his Handgun Control organization said Shields died at his home in Greenville, Del., after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 68.

At his death he was chairman emeritus of the advocacy group that has been credited with many reforms in gun control.

In 1989, saying he wished to spend more time with his family, he turned over control of Handgun Control to Sarah Brady, wife of the former presidential press secretary, James S. Brady, who was wounded and paralyzed during the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.

“Jim and I are deeply saddened at the loss of the very heart and soul of the movement dedicated to reducing handgun violence and saving lives,” Sarah Brady said.

In May, 1975, after his eldest son, Nick, was shot to death during the random violence in San Francisco that became known as the Zebra murders, Shields took a leave of absence from his 26-year business career with E.I. DuPont of Wilmington, Del. He helped found what was then called the National Council to Control Handguns Inc., now Handgun Control Inc. He became chairman in 1978.

At the time he said he wanted to see “if something can be done to prevent future senseless killings” so that his son’s death “won’t have been in vain.”

The killing and wounding of 25 persons, all white, were said by witnesses to be victims of blacks. The name given the attacks came from the police call channel used in the manhunt for the gunmen.

During Shields’ tenure, the anti-gun group was credited with the outlawing of so-called cop-killer bullets, the prohibition of the sale of undetectable, plastic handguns, and a ban on the import of parts for Saturday night specials.

Shields is survived by his wife, Jeanne, a son and two daughters.