After the latest shooting in a Texas mall, US President Joe Biden on Sunday reiterated his call for a national assault weapons ban and enforcement of gun safety measures the day. He ordered US flags to be lowered at half-mast "as a mark of respect for the victims" and repeated his call for lawmakers to take action against the gun “epidemic”. Biden asked the US Congress to send him a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
"Eight Americans - including children - were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation," Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday morning.
"Yesterday, an assailant in tactical gear armed with an AR-15 style assault weapon gunned down innocent people in a shopping mall, and not for the first time. Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar. And yet, American communities have suffered roughly 200 mass shootings already this year, according to leading counts. More than 14,000 of our fellow citizens have lost their lives, credible estimates show," Biden stated, stressing that "the leading cause of death for American kids is gun violence."
The US President mentioned that he signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and took "two dozen executive actions to stem the tide of gun violence, we have made some progress." States are banning assault weapons, expanding red flag laws, and more — but it’s not enough. We need more action, faster to save lives, he emphasised.
"Too many families have empty chairs at their dinner tables," President Biden said, as he criticised his political opponents for inaction.
He remarked that Republican Members of Congress "cannot continue to meet this epidemic with a shrug. Tweeted thoughts and prayers are not enough."
He asked the US Congress to send a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, enacting universal background checks, requiring safe storage, and ending immunity for gun manufacturers. "I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe," Joe Biden said in the statement.
Texas Rampage Kills 9, 3 In 'Critical Surgery'
The gunfire at Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, which is 35 miles (55 kilometres) north of Dallas, Texas, erupted Saturday afternoon when it was busy with weekend shoppers.
Video footage circulating online showed the shooter exiting a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot Saturday and firing with a semi-automatic rifle at people walking nearby. An officer on an unrelated call nearby quickly responded and "neutralised" the shooter at the large facility in Allen, police said, as per news agency AFP.
Distressed witnesses, police, and responders described the scene as panic and horror. Seven people had died at the scene including the shoot, two more people died at the hospital while "three are in critical surgery, and four are stable," Allen fire chief Jonathan Boyd said Saturday. The shooter is reportedly a 33-year-old man named Mauricio Garcia.
This is the latest shooting in an alarming trajectory of deadly US gun violence. Barely a week ago, a man shot five of his neighbours after he was asked to stop shooting his rifle as their baby was asleep.
Several other people have also been gunned down in recent weeks over petty disputes or common mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
The United States has already endured 199 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-governmental organisation that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed.