UVALDE, Texas — President Joe Biden and first girl Jill Biden on Sunday met with first responders and households of the victims of the mass taking pictures at an elementary faculty in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 college students and two academics.
After arriving within the state, the Bidens visited a memorial web site exterior of Robb Elementary Faculty, laying flowers in honor of the victims, earlier than they met with and comforted grieving households.
It was Biden’s second go to to the location of a mass taking pictures in as many weeks. On Might 17, Biden made the same journey to Buffalo, New York, the place he met with group leaders and victims’ households of a racially motivated mass taking pictures at a grocery retailer in that metropolis.
Later, the Bidens traveled to Garner Fields to fulfill with paramedics, psychological well being service suppliers, firefighters and regulation enforcement officers.
Amid their journey, the Justice Division stated that it’s going to conduct a overview of the regulation enforcement response on the day of the taking pictures.
Native police on Friday admitted to a lot of failures in responding to the taking pictures, together with that they made the “flawed resolution” by ready to confront the shooter.
Earlier within the day, the Bidens additionally attended mass at Sacred Coronary heart Catholic Church, the place they spoke with non secular leaders. They sat within the entrance row heart aisle as Gustavo GarcÃa-Siller, the archbishop of San Antonio, led the service.
“Our hearts are damaged with disappointment and mourning however we all know God is with us,” GarcÃa-Siller stated.
Uvalde residents Ralph Salinas, and his spouse, Cynthia, stated, “It is consoling to know that the president cares.”
Rebecca Espanol, one other resident, stated the Bidens’ attendance was uplifting. “At the moment was very particular due to what we’ve been going via,” she stated. “It’s been unhappy the entire week — it’s been very unhappy.”
In current days, the president has more and more pleaded for lawmakers to take motion, accusing those that oppose new restrictions on firearms of caving into strain from the gun business and gun-rights advocates.
Whereas a bipartisan group of lawmakers have restarted talks on spending some sort of gun management invoice there may be little optimism in Washington that the group will be capable to get the 60 votes wanted to go even a slimmed-down model of what Biden is looking for.
As Biden arrived in Uvalde, he was greeted by a metropolis not solely scuffling with grief but additionally unanswered questions on how the police radio site visitors occasion unfolded and the police response.
Police there have confronted criticism from each inside and out of doors the group for ready about an hour earlier than straight confronting the shooter.
Pettypiece reported from Washington, Planas reported from Uvalde.
