In Uvalde, Texas, 19 school children and two teachers were killed last Tuesday by the bullets of an 18-year-old boy.
Joe Biden arrived in the Texas town of Uvalde on Sunday, five days after the elementary school shooting, to bring his empathy to loved ones bereaved by the shooting that shocked America and reignited the firearms debate.
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« You can’t make dramas illegal, I know that. But we can make America safer“, pleaded on Saturday the President of the United States, regretting that”in so many places, so many innocent people have died« . Nineteen children and two teachers died on Tuesday in the Robb school in Uvalde under the bullets of Salvador Ramos, barely 18, in one of the worst shootings in recent years in the country.
The 79-year-old Democrat, who himself lost two of his children — his still-baby daughter in a car accident and an adult son to cancer — spoke of his own suffering shortly after the killings. « Losing a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped out of you“, he said on Tuesday. « Nothing is ever the same again.»
« Arms Lobby»
In Uvalde, the Biden couple will first go to the memorial erected for the victims in front of the primary school, before participating in a midday mass. In the afternoon, they will meet the families of victims and survivors of the massacre, then members of the rescue teams. Known for his empathy, Joe Biden will undoubtedly be able to find the words in the face of the suffering of loved ones. But the head of state can hardly promise action to those who demand stricter control of firearms.
The too narrow Democratic parliamentary majority does not allow him to pass significant legislation on the subject alone. The elected representatives of his camp need to convince a few Republicans to obtain the necessary qualified majority. The White House, reluctant to involve Joe Biden too much in the political battle, said Thursday that it had “need congressional help“, by the voice of his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. Negotiations are taking place there, and some elected officials deemed it possible, on Sunday, to put in place more restrictive laws. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said he felt « a different mindsetamong his peers. It remains to be seen if the Republicans willshow political courage“, he added on the CNN channel.
« All die»
The Uvalde massacre and the childlike faces of its very young victims plunged America back into the nightmare of school shootings. The inhabitants of this small town awaited their president on Sunday, a visit “important“Judged Frank Campos, 52, who lives in the neighboring city of San Antonio. « But how many more schools will he go to? We have to put an end to all thishe said, calling for restricting access to weapons. Illustration of the country’s divisions, Luis Luera, 50, thinks that such legislation would not change anything: « criminals will find a way to get weapons« .
Since the massacre, the first testimonies of the students who emerged alive from the Robb school gave a glimpse of the nightmare they lived through. Upon entering the room, the shooter said to the children: « You are all going to die“, before opening fire, told Samuel Salinas, 10, to the ABC channel. « I think he was aiming at me“testified the young boy, but a chair between him and the shooter blocked the bullet. In the room on the floor covered in blood, Samuel Salinas, in order not to be targeted by the shots, tried to « play dead« .
Miah Cerrillo, 11, tried to escape the attention of Salvador Ramos in the same way. The girl covered herself in the blood of a comrade, whose body was next to her, she explained to CNN. She had just seen the teenager kill his teacher, after telling her « good night« . It took about an hour on Tuesday for the police to put an end to the massacre. The 19 agents on site awaited the assault of a specialized unit. A delay in intervention which caused a strong controversy, and a mea culpa from the Texas authorities.
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However, the police received numerous calls from people in the two affected classrooms, including one from a child pleading: “Please send the font now« .
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