Immediately after arriving back from his five-day excursion in China, President Joe Biden addressed the nation. Americans have been stunned to learn of another massacre, this time in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary School. We have been reporting on the tragedy and in its updates, authorities have increased the number of casualties. Initially, it was stated that 14 students—2nd to 4th graders—and one teacher were killed. Now, that number reportedly stands at 18 children and three adults, according to ABC 13 News.
Salvador Ramos, 18, has been named as the suspect in this mass murder. It has been reported that he was also killed in the incident. Biden spoke to citizens from the White House Roosevelt Room: "I had hoped when I became president I would not have to do this — again," he began.
"Another massacre. Uvalde, Texas. An elementary school. Beautiful, innocent second, third and fourth graders. And how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened — see their friends die, as if they're in a battlefield, for God's sake. They'll live with it the rest of their lives." Students were reportedly just one week away from the summer breaks.
"What struck me on that 17-hour flight, what struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?" Biden asked. "They have mental health problems. They have domestic disputes in other countries. They have people who are lost, but these kinds of mass shootings never happen with the kind of frequency they happen in America. Why? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?"
"As a nation, we have to ask, when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?"
Meanwhile, narratives are beginning to shift less than 24 hours since the tragedy erupted. Several politicians are now using this moment to advocate for more weapons in the hands of adults as there has now been a call to arm teachers. There are also those who have brought up Ramos's background and are using his name to push for stronger borders.
Check it out below.