WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – President Joe Biden with First Lady Jill Biden visited a memorial for nineteen students and 2 teachers killed in a horrific shooting incident at a Texas elementary school, offering sympathy to a community torn apart by anger and grief.
According to NBC NEWS, Biden’s visit to Uvalde on Sunday was his 2nd in as many weeks to console a population in grief following a tragic loss due to a shooting. On May 17, he went to Buffalo, New York, to speak with deceased’ families and criticize white supremacy in the aftermath of a shooter who used the racist “replacement theory” to murder ten Black individuals in a supermarket.
At Robb Elementary School, Biden stood at a memorial site of 21 white crosses, one for each of the victims, and the First Lady placed white flowers on a mound in front of the school sign. As the pair walked down the row, they saw individual altars made in remembrance of each kid, and the first lady caressed the pictures of the kids.
The massacres in New York and Texas, as well as their aftermath, highlighted the country’s deep conflicts and reluctance to reach a consensus on how to minimize gun violence.
Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where many of the victims’ families pray.
When Biden was leaving the church for private discussions with members of the family at a community hall, a gathering of around 100 people screamed “do something.” He replied, “We will.”
Before heading to Washington, the president spoke with first responders at the airport. He wasn’t supposed to make any formal statements.
Biden paid a visit as the police reaction to the shooting drew significant criticism.
Officials disclosed on Friday that teachers and children begged 911 operators for assistance many times as a police commander directed over a dozen policemen to wait in a hallway. Officials claimed the commander thought the suspect was confined inside an adjacent classroom and that the shooting was over.
The revelation prompted even more anguish and raised further questions as to whether lives were lost as a result of officers’ failure to act quickly enough to stop the shooter, who was eventually killed by Border Patrol tactical agents.
On Sunday, the Department Of Justice indicated that it would conduct an investigation into law enforcement’s response and disclose its findings to the public.
The shooter lawfully bought 2 guns not long before the school shooting incident, according to authorities. He’d only recently turned 18, allowing him to purchase firearms under federal law.
