'When in God's name...': US President Joe Biden says 'we have to act' after Texas school shooting

Washington: US President Joe Biden delivered an emotional call for “new restrictions on firearms” after a gunman opened fire at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, killing over 20 people. “When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” Biden said at the White House shortly after returning from a five-day trip to Asia that was bookended by tragedy.

 

As a nation,we've to ask when in God's name are we going to stand up to gun lobby & do what needs to be done? Parents will never see their children again. So many crushed spirits...:US President Biden on shooting at an elementary school in Texas which killed 18 children, 3 adults pic.twitter.com/LYtUcsl7nj — ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2022

 

With first lady Jill Biden standing by his side in the Roosevelt Room, Biden added, “I am sick and tired. We have to act.”At least 21 students were killed, according to a state senator who said he was briefed by law enforcement, in addition to a teacher.

 

It's time to act! We need to let those know who delay/block the common-sense gun laws that we will not forget... Our prayer tonight for parents lying in bed trying to figure out, will I be able to sleep again...: US President Joe Biden on shooting at an elementary school in Texas pic.twitter.com/fvT6gMMe8i — ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2022

 

Just two days before Biden left on his trip, he met with victims' families after a hate-motivated shooter killed 10 Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.The back-to-back tragedies served as sobering reminders of the frequency and brutality of an American epidemic of mass gun violence.

“These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world," Biden said. "Why”. He directed that American flags be flown at half-staff through sunset Saturday in honour of the victims in Texas.

Vice President Kamala Harris said earlier that people normally declare in moments like this, “our hearts break” but our hearts keep getting broken ... And our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families.” “We have to have the courage to take action ... To ensure something like this never happens again,” she said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on the shooting by deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley-Dillon and other members of his senior team aboard Air Force One.

Shortly before landing in Washington, Biden spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott from the presidential plane ‘to offer any and all assistance he needs in the wake of the horrific shooting in Uvalde, TX,’ White House communications director Kate Bedingfield tweeted.