US President Joe Biden and First Lady will visit Uvalde, Texas on Sunday “to grieve with the community that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting”.
On Tuesday an 18-year-old gunman killed 21 people, including 19 children and two schoolteachers. It is the worst school shooting since 2012’s tragedy at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six educators were killed.
The President and the First Lady will “grieve with the community that lost 21 lives in the horrific elementary school shooting”, the White House announced on Thursday.
“On Sunday, Jill and I are traveling to Uvalde, Texas to grieve with the community that lost 21 lives in the horrific elementary school shooting,” president Biden tweeted.
The gunman, identified as 18-year-old Uvalde High School student Salvador Rolando Ramos, was killed by responding officers after the attack on Tuesday.
He used two AR-style rifles, both legally purchased, for the attack.
“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong,” Biden said in a speech from the White House on Tuesday night.
He has also called out the influential gun lobby in the US and urged Congress to pass gun control legislation in the wake of rising firearms-related violence.
Senate Republicans have signaled a willingness to talk with Democrats on gun legislation that has long been stalled on Capitol Hill.
Students across the US held walk-outs on Thursday to protest against gun violence and the inaction of politicians.
The US has seen at least 214 mass shootings so far this year, according to an online database that keeps a record of the country’s gun violence incidents.
More than 17,000 people have died in gun-related episodes across the US over the past five months, including at least 653 children and teenagers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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