‘We Have To Act’: Biden Demands Tougher Gun Laws After Texas Elementary School Shooting Leaves 18 Children Dead

Breaking Business ‘We Have To Act’: Biden Demands Tougher Gun Laws After Texas Elementary School Shooting Leaves 18 Children Dead Kalie Drago Forbes Staff Breaking News Nicholas Reimann Forbes Staff I cover national politics, with a focus on Donald Trump. May 24, 2022, 09:18pm EDT | Updated May 24, 2022, 10:06pm EDT Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline President Joe Biden called on lawmakers to pass “common-sense gun laws” in an impassioned address Tuesday evening, after a shooting at a Texas elementary school left 18 children dead, saying, “as a nation we have to ask: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” President Joe Biden speaks to the nation about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in . .

. [+] Uvalde, Texas, from the White House, in Washington on Tuesday as first lady Jill Biden listens. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ASSOCIATED PRESS Key Facts Biden lamented that the 18-year-old alleged shooter was able to purchase an assault weapon, adding: “What in God’s name do you need an assault weapon for, except to kill someone?” The president specifically cited the Federal Assault Weapons Ban—which took effect in 1994 but expired a decade later—as an example of a “common-sense” policy.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said earlier Tuesday a shooter named Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde—a small city about 85 miles west of San Antonio—around noon local time and opened fire. Sgt.

Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN a total of 20 people died, including 18 children, one adult and the gunman—it’s not clear how many people were injured, but Abbott said two police officers were shot and both are expected to survive. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Marsha Espinosa said Tuesday night that one Border Patrol agent was “wounded by the shooter during the exchange of gunfire,” after responding to a call for assistance. Estrada said authorities received a call about a man crashing his vehicle into a ditch, after which the man exited the vehicle armed with a rifle and engaged with officers before entering Robb Elementary School.

Abbott said Ramos was an Uvalde resident and former student at the school, and Estrada said Ramos also shot his grandmother in an earlier incident Tuesday, forcing her to be airlifted to a hospital. Crucial Quote “It’s just sick,” Biden said, citing Tuesday’s shooting and a broader recent uptick in mass shootings. “Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone?” Tangent Earlier Tuesday, the White House ordered flags lowered to half-staff “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.

” Contra Shortly after the shooting, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called the incident “horrific” but warned against Congress taking up gun control legislation, telling CNN : “You see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens. ” Cruz, Abbott and Sen.

John Cornyn (R-Texas) are all scheduled to speak in Houston on Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting. What We Don’t Know Authorities haven’t named a potential motive, but Pete Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, said the shooter acted alone and police are not looking for any other suspects. Key Background Tuesday’s massacre is the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, and it’s the deadliest at a U.

S. elementary school since 27 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. Uvalde is a community of about 15,000 people, located about midway between San Antonio and the Mexican border.

Robb Elementary School serves grades 2-4 and has a student population of less than 600, according to U. S. News and World Report.

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