Joe Biden
President Joe Biden called for tighter gun control measures again on Tuesday, while condemning a string of tragedies that clouded Independence Day.
According to police, five people were killed and four were injured in a shooting in Philadelphia on Monday night. Another shooting occurred overnight in Fort Worth, Texas, killing three people and injuring eight others.
And, as of Tuesday afternoon, additional gunshots had occurred on Independence Day across the country.
According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), five people were injured in Lansing, Michigan, and four people were injured in Charlotte, North Carolina.
According to local media, another shooting in Akron, Ohio, which police responded to in the early morning hours of Tuesday, injured four people.
“Over the last few days, our nation has once again endured a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America”, Biden said in a statement, referring to the shootings in Philadelphia, Fort Worth, and Lansing, as well as recent incidents of gun violence in Baltimore, Wichita, Kansas, and Chicago.
The president stated, “As our country celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities are free of gun violence”.
A gunman killed seven people and injured dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, just outside Chicago, last year.
Officials said the area planned a remembrance ceremony this year instead of a parade and regular festivities.
“In mere moments, this day of patriotic pride became a scene of pain and tragedy”, Biden remarked, referring to the anniversary of the massacre.
Police in Philadelphia confirmed they had caught the shooter, but his motive remained unknown.
“We have absolutely no idea why this happened”, stated Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
According to Ernest Ransom, a staff inspector with the Philadelphia police, the suspect, a 40-year-old man wearing body armor and a ski mask, blasted rounds from a military-style assault rifle at random in the city’s Kingsessing district.
“He was shooting aimlessly at occupied vehicles and individuals on the street as they walked”, said Ransom.
Meanwhile, no arrests had been recorded in Fort Worth as of Tuesday afternoon.
According to the GVA’s record, there have been at least 346 mass shootings in the United States this year. A mass shooting is defined by the GVA as a gun-related occurrence in which at least four people are injured or killed, excluding the gunman.
Last year, more than 44,000 people were killed by guns, with almost 24,000 of them committing suicide.
“Much more must be done to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart”, Biden said, lauding gun control legislation passed in Illinois in the aftermath of the Highland Park shooting.
“I urge other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and I continue to urge Republican lawmakers in Congress to come to the table on meaningful, commonsense reforms supported by the American people”, the president added.
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