Joe Biden paid a visit to Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday, to console a town bereaved by the deadliest American mass shooting, which killed 19 elementary school students and two instructors.
The visit came two weeks after a racist incident in Buffalo, New York, and came as Democrats in Washington expressed uncertain optimism about bipartisan gun reform legislation in Congress.
Onlookers applauded Biden, but they also urged President Obama and visiting Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott to do more to make America safer for their children.
The Uvalde Visit Made Biden Shed Tears
The Uvalde Visit saw the president of the United States and First Lady Jill Biden, both dressed in black, pay their tributes outside the Robb primary school.
As he walked carefully around the monument, Biden could be seen extending out to touch the children’s portraits and wiping tears from his eyes at one point.
During the Uvalde visit, Abbott was nearby and has talked about increased school security but not gun regulations since last Tuesday’s tragedy, bringing jeers on Sunday. Ben Gonzalez, 35, of Uvalde, addressed the legislators and stated that he wanted to see change on multiple problems, including more gun regulations, more resources for mental health, and more resources for schools, and that it was up to local and federal lawmakers to act.
The Bidens strolled past the entrance before being shuttled in the presidential vehicle to attend mass at a local Catholic church. After the Uvalde visit, Biden was expected to join the grieving. After it was revealed that local police had waited for at least an hour outside the classroom where the shooter had barricaded himself and started firing, the US Justice Department stated it will undertake a critical incident assessment of the law enforcement response to the massacre.
Biden decried “too much bloodshed, too much fear, too much sadness” amid recurring gun violence throughout America, which he termed “acts of evil,” in an address in Delaware on Saturday.
