President Biden demanded change, saying: “To lose a child, it’s like having a piece of your soul ripped away.”
It’s been nearly 10 years since the massacre at Sandy Hook shook the nation to its core, yet unspeakable gun violence continues to horrify us with terrifying regularity.
In the second U.S. mass shooting in 10 days, at least 19 children and two adults were killed when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday. The suspect, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was shot dead by law enforcement responding to the scene.
According to Gov. Greg Abbott, Ramos may have been carrying a handgun and a rifle, with high-capacity magazines. Abbott said that Ramos, left a vehicle before heading into the school to “horrifically, incomprehensibly” open fire.
Ramos reportedly shot his grandmother before proceeding to the school. She was airlifted to the hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Authorities are yet to release the names of the victims, but fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles has been identified as one of them by her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado. Delgado told KSAT:
“I’m furious that these shootings continue, these children are innocent, rifles should not be easily available to all. This is… my hometown a small community of less than 20,000. I never imagined this would happen to especially to loved ones… All we can do is pray hard for our country, state, schools and especially the families of all.”
Parents waited for 12 hours outside the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center as updates about the victims came in. At least four families told CNN that parents of potential victims had been asked to give emergency responders DNA samples to confirm their identity, before waiting an hour to hear the answer.
President Joe Biden, who had just returned from a trip to Asia, addressed a nation in mourning. Looking upset and angry, and accompanied by first lady Dr. Jill Biden, who was wearing black, he said:
“I had hoped when I became President I would not have to do this again. Another massacre. Beautiful, innocent, second, third, fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened — see their friends die as if they’re in a battlefield, for God’s sake. They’ll live with it the rest of their lives.”
“To lose a child, it’s like having a piece of your soul ripped away,” he continued.
Biden referenced his frustrated efforts as vice president to reach a compromise on gun violence legislation, stressing: “As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name we’re going to stand up to the gun lobby. We have to act and don’t tell me we can’t have an impact on this carnage.”
The President’s words followed an impassioned speech from Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who represents Sandy Hook’s district, on the Senate floor.
“Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands. What are we doing?” Murphy asked.
“Our kids are living in fear every single time they set foot in the classroom because they think they’re going to be next. What are we doing? Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority, if your answer is that as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing?”
Murphy highlighted the unique stance America takes on gun laws, stressing that tragedies like this are not “inevitable.” “This only happens in this country,” he said. “Nowhere else… It is a choice.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared his condolences for the horrifying attack. “I would like to express my condolences to all of the relatives and family members of the children who were killed in an awful shooting in Texas,” he said through a translator, adding “this is terrible to have victims of shooters in peaceful time.”
As we try to process this senseless violence, it’s vital that we channel our energies towards productive change. In this critical conversation, Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action explains how everyone can get involved to fight for common-sense gun policies and laws, and a safer culture. Watch that conversation below.
