The White House announced on Thursday that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday, May 29, and meet with families of victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School this week.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the president intends to speak with religious and community leaders, in addition to the victims' families. Jean-Pierre added that the president and first lady believe it is important to show their support for the community during this devastating time and to be there for the families of the victims.
The tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School left 19 students and two teachers dead, according to USA Today. The massacre happened just 10 days after a mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. The president and the first lady previously traveled to Buffalo on May 17 to visit the scene of that mass shooting and meet with the families of the victims there.
Biden calls on lawmakers to pass specific gun legislation
For the first time since those shootings occurred, Biden called on lawmakers late Thursday afternoon to pass specific legislation. But the president went further than what is being discussed on Capitol Hill. He posted a message on social media platform Twitter, writing "Congress needs to pass universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines." He also tweeted that it is time to "turn this pain into action."
A bipartisan group of senators have kicked off informal talks on a possible compromise legislation, according to NBC News. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is one of the Democrats leading the talks. He described a potential package that would be much smaller in scale than what President Biden urged.
Murphy said Thursday on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" that it won't be everything he wants. He said that it won't be universal background checks and it likely won't be a ban on assault weapons. Murphy said that the compromise legislation maybe an expansion of background checks and maybe red flag laws. It also maybe adjusting the age that you can purchase weapons.
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Uvalde gunman bought more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition
When asked at the White House briefing whether President Biden would support raising the age to buy guns to 21, Jean-Pierre said that the commander-in-chief has been very clear that it does not make sense for an 18-year-old like the Uvalde gunman to legally buy an assault weapon.
More details are emerging regarding the mass shooting in Texas. A law enforcement official said during a news conference on Friday, May 27, that the Uvalde mass shooting suspect bought more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition before opening fire and killing 21 people at Robb Elementary School.
Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told CBS News that The suspect had purchased 1,657 total rounds of ammunition, 315 of which were found inside the school.
