Joe Biden called the shooting another horrific reminder of gun violence tearing communities apart
Washington:
President Joe Biden has expressed condolences to the victims of a school shooting in Georgia and has called on Republicans to work with Democrats in Congress to pass gun safety legislation to help prevent future gun violence in the United States.
At least four people, including two students, were killed and nine others were injured on Wednesday when a fellow student opened fire at a high school in the US state of Georgia, CNN reported.
Biden described the shooting as “another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.”
“Jill (Biden) and I mourn the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to senseless gun violence and remember all the survivors whose lives were forever changed. What should have been a joyful school season in Winder, Georgia, has now become another horrifying reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” Biden said in a White House statement.
The US president complained that students across the country are “learning how to duck and take cover instead of reading and writing.”
“We cannot continue to accept this as normal. We are working closely with officials at the federal, state and local levels and are grateful to the first responders who took the suspect into custody and prevented further loss of life,” Biden said.
Furthermore, Biden reaffirmed his commitment to tackling the gun violence epidemic in the US and highlighted his efforts to address the issue, including signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
“Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal to me. That’s why I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the most meaningful gun safety bill in decades — and announced dozens of executive actions on gun safety. I also have the first – ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Harris. We have made significant progress, but this crisis requires even more,” the US President said.
Biden called on Republicans to work with Democrats in Congress to pass gun safety legislation to help prevent future gun violence, declaring that “enough is enough.”
“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. We must once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring back those who tragically died today, but they will help prevent more tragic gun violence from tearing more families apart.
US Vice President Kamala Harris also addressed X and expressed his condolences to the people affected by this shooting, describing it as a “senseless tragedy”.
“Today, Doug and I mourn the deaths of those whose lives were cut short by gun violence at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Our hearts are with the students, teachers and families affected by this shooting, and we are grateful for the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. This is a senseless tragedy – and it doesn’t have to be that way. We must end the gun violence epidemic in our country once and for all,” said Kamala Harris.
Georgia Governor Brian P Kemp also posted on the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.”
“We will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and continue to respond to this situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the suspected shooter is in custody and has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Cray, a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta. Two of the dead were students and two teachers. Law enforcement authorities are still investigating the shooting and the motive behind it.
The high school had previously received a telephone threat, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.
The call Wednesday morning warned that five schools would be shot at, and that Apalachee would be the first. It is not known who called. Officials tell CNN they are investigating the call and where it came from.
The US has suffered at least 385 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN defines mass shootings as shootings in which four or more victims are shot. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings per day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)