Joe Biden renewed his call for a national assault-weapons ban. (file)
Washington, United States:
US President Joe Biden renewed his call on Sunday for a national assault-weapons ban and other gun safety measures, a day after eight people were killed in a Texas shopping mall that shocked the nation. The latest mass shooting took place.
Responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and terror north of Dallas, where video footage circulating online showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot on Saturday and firing a gun at people walking nearby. Shown firing a semi-automatic rifle.
Police said an officer responded quickly to an unrelated call nearby and “neutralized” the shooter at the larger facility in Allen.
Seven people including the shooter died on the spot. Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said Saturday that two other victims died in hospital, while three were undergoing serious surgery and four were in stable condition.
Multiple US news outlets, all citing unnamed law enforcement sources, on Sunday identified the shooter as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia.
“Eight Americans, including children, were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our country,” Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday morning.
He ordered American flags flown at half-mast “as a mark of respect for the victims” and reiterated calls for lawmakers to take action against a gun “epidemic.”
“Once again I ask Congress to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the 80-year-old Democrat said.
He also demanded that lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers whose weapons are used in attacks.
Joe Biden said in a statement, “I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe.”
The attack is the latest in a dangerous trajectory of deadly American gun violence. Barely a week ago, a man shot and killed five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas, after one of them asked him to stop firing his rifle in their yard at night while a child was sleeping.
Several others have also been shot in recent weeks over petty disputes or simple mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization steeped in firearms, the United States has already experienced 199 mass shootings this year, which defines a mass shooting as one that injures or kills four or more people. defines.
President Biden rebuked his political opponents for inaction, saying, “Too many families have empty chairs at the dinner table.”
“Republican members of Congress cannot shoulder this pandemic,” he said. “Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
no ‘quick fix’
Police said the shooting began Saturday afternoon at Allen Premium Outlets, 35 miles (55 kilometers) north of Dallas, while it was busy with weekend shopping.
Allen Police Department Chief Brian Harvey said the officer at the mall “heard gunshots, heard gunshots, apprehended the suspect and neutralized the suspect.”
Joe Biden joined local officials in applauding police’s quick actions for potentially saving lives.
The police chief later said that officers believe the unknown shooter “acted alone.” CNN showed a cropped photo of the apparent gunman dead on the ground, wearing tactical gear with spare magazines, and holding an AR-15-style rifle.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting an “speakable tragedy”.
But on Sunday, as Democrats repeatedly called on Congress to enact gun safety legislation and blasted Texas and other states for allowing the permit-less carry of firearms, the Republican governor vowed to restrict the guns. refused to answer.
He told Fox News Sunday, “People want a quick fix. The long-term solution is to address the issue of mental health” which also includes “anger and violence” in the US.
‘Unfathomable’ carnage
Steven Spainhauer, a former police officer, said that when he arrived at the scene and performed CPR on the victims before emergency responders arrived, he was confronted with horrifying images.
Finding a female victim on the ground, “I felt for her pulse, pulled her head to one side, and she had no face,” Mr. Spainhauer told CBS News. He found the son of another victim lying alive under his dead mother and “covered from head to toe” in her blood.
“Seeing the carnage is unfathomable,” he said.
With more firearms than residents, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country — 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 a year earlier.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)