He called on the members of Congress to take action against the “weapons epidemic” in the country. “I again urge Congress to bring before me a bill banning assault weapons and large-capacity magazines,” the President said. “I’ll sign it immediately.”
A heavily armed attacker killed eight people and injured several others in front of a shopping center in Texas on Saturday. Video footage circulating online shows the man dressed in black getting out of his car in the parking lot of a mall in the city of Allen and apparently shooting indiscriminately at passers-by. A police officer eventually shot the shooter.
In the United States, there are repeated gun attacks with numerous fatalities. In 2021, around 49,000 people died from the use of firearms, compared to 45,000 the year before. Biden has long wanted to tighten gun laws. However, all attempts to do so have so far come to nothing and have often failed due to resistance from the opposition Republicans in Congress.
Texas is one of the states with the most lax gun laws. Just a week ago, a man in Texas shot dead five people in a neighboring house after residents asked him to stop his nightly target practice.
