Biden Visits Texas Shooting Site, Says "Will Do Whatever It Takes"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joeslgina] U.S. President Joe Biden visited the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the site of the shooting tragedy, on the 29th (local time). It was five days after the incident.

According to CNN, on this holiday, President Biden visited the elementary school where the incident occurred with First Lady Jill Biden to pay tribute to the victims.

After meeting with the principal and officials of Robb Elementary School, President Biden laid flowers and bowed his head at the memorial site set up in front of the school. CNN reported that the Biden couple looked at photos of 19 children and 2 teachers who died in the indiscriminate shooting by the 18-year-old gunman on the 24th for several minutes.

President Biden then visited a nearby church and attended mass. As he was leaving the church, someone shouted, "Do something," to which he replied, "I will."

Immediately after, President Biden departed to meet with families of the victims and survivors of the shooting. The meeting was held privately for about three hours. CNN added that this week is personally significant for the Biden couple, noting that Monday marked the seventh anniversary of the death of their son, Beau Biden, from cancer.

This is the second time this month that President Biden has visited a shooting tragedy site. Earlier, on the 14th, an 18-year-old white supremacist opened fire at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 people.

President Biden, who campaigned on gun control, has repeatedly urged the passage of gun reform legislation, but related bills remain stalled in the Senate due to Republican opposition.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Uvalde shooting, concluding that the police response was a total failure. It was revealed that 19 police officers waited in the hallway outside the classroom for 48 minutes while the gunman was shooting. The police chief, who misjudged the shooting as a hostage situation, did not order police entry and even blocked armed agents from the Border Patrol from entering.

Anthony Coley, spokesperson for the Department of Justice, stated, "We are conducting a 'critical incident review' of law enforcement's response," and added, "After the review, the investigation results will be released in a report."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.