President Joe Biden, visibly weary and reading haltingly from a teleprompter, expressed grief and sympathy for the families and friends of those who died in Texas during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. An 18-year-old man entered the school and killed 19 children and two adults.
Biden told an incomprehensible joke about how there aren’t deer wearing kevlar vests in Texas, and he blamed the “gun lobby” for fighting what he calls reasonable gun legislation. He said, “We must do more” to crack down on weapons and he noted the fact that he had just been in Japan and Korea, where they do not have such gun violence.
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage?” he asked the camera.
On Tuesday morning, Salvador Ramos first shot his grandmother, then crashed his car near the school. He engaged in a shootout with police, who chased him into the school, which he was able to enter even though it was locked down. He had on him a “handgun and possibly a rifle,” according to Texas officials. The number of dead is now at 21.
“As soon as he made entry into the school he started shooting children, teachers, whoever was in his way, he was shooting everybody,” said Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez.
Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement following the shooting:
“Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering. We thank the courageous first responders who worked to finally secure Robb Elementary School. I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal.”
Biden, during remarks in which he appeared frail and exasperated, said Congress must “do something,” but he didn’t say what Congress could have done to prevent this specific crime.
Tucker Carlson, on his Fox News show, said, “The president of the United States, frail, confused, bitterly partisan, desecrating the memory of recently murdered children with tired talking points of the Democratic Party, dividing the country in a moment of deep pain rather than uniting.”
