To lose a child is like having your soul ripped away: Biden
May 25, 2022 11:16
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting during his return flight from Japan where he attended the Quad Summit.
In a prime-time address on Tuesday, a visibly emotional Biden asked what it would take to convince fellow lawmakers that it's time to act. President Biden again tried to comfort a nation grieving after a mass shooting, urging action to counter powerful gunmakers and repeatedly questioning why the country he leads lacks the backbone to stem the bloodshed.
"How many scores of little children who witnessed what happened seen their friends die as if they're on a battlefield, for god's sake," said Biden.
"To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. There's a hollowness in your chest." Turning to the issue of gun control legislation, Biden implored lawmakers to turn this pain into action" as he ticked through some of the mass shootings since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when he was vice president.
"I am sick and tired of it. We have to act. And don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage," he said, asking: Why do we keep letting this happen?"
"Where in God's name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?" he said.
Biden has ordered the US flag to be flown at half-mast until sunset on Saturday, May 28, in memory of those killed in Texas. The US flag across all public buildings, grounds, military posts, naval stations, naval vessels, embassies, consular offices and military facilities will be in half-mast.
In Uvalde, all schools were locked once the gunshots were heard. In addition to the confirmed deaths, a number of people have been injured. No number of the injured has been released.
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