By The opinion
May 23, 2024, 9:20 PM EDT
President Biden wrote a letter to the families of the victims of the deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, reaffirming its commitment to the prevention of gun violence two years after the tragedy.
Biden notes in the letter, dated for Friday’s anniversary, that he and first lady Jill Biden visited Uvalde after the shooting. He said: “When we met with the families, they had the same message we heard after too many mass shootings: do something”.
The Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was a school shooting that occurred on May 24, 2022, and one of the deadliest elementary school shootings, sparking a wave of criticism amid the rising tide of violence. navy.
In full vigil to remember the 19 children and 2 teachers murdered at a school in Uvalde (Texas), President Joe Biden took the opportunity to reiterate the need for Congress to ban assault weapons.
“I continue to ask Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” the president said in a letter he sent this Thursday to the families of those affected.
Thus, this Friday marks two years since the shooting at Robb Elementary School in which Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old young man, opened fire with an assault rifle, killing 21 people and wounding another 17, most of them of ethnic origin. Latin American.
According to the White House, Relatives will commemorate the anniversary with a vigil to honor the victims and survivors of the shooting, in which the deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Robert Wilcox, will participate.
Biden recalled that after the tragedy he traveled with the first lady, Jill Biden, to the municipality and the families gave him the message to do something to stop mass shootings.
During these two years, the president recalls, “the courage, strength and resilience that you have shown in the face of such a profound loss reminds us that we can come together as a country and take common sense measures to save lives and keep our communities safe.”
The Uvalde massacre not only highlighted the danger of assault weapons but also revealed numerous institutional failures.
This anniversary comes just a couple of days after the relatives of the victims announced an agreement worth two million dollars with the Government of this Texas municipality.
The city of Uvalde will pay two million to the relatives of the 17 children killed in the school shooting, one of the deadliest in United States history, and also to two of the children who survived, according to a statement from the lawyers of the families.
The agreement also includes improved training for Uvalde police officers, support for mental health services for families, survivors and community members, and the creation of a committee to coordinate with families for a permanent memorial .
This is the first compensation for the families but it may not be the only one since there are several collective and individual lawsuits pending resolution.
Among them, a collective one worth $27 billion in federal court that was imposed in December 2022 against several Texas police agencies.
Keep reading:
– Relatives of the victims of the Uvalde shooting obtained an official count but want criminal proceedings
– The massacre at the Uvalde school could have been stopped early, report reveals
– Department of Justice prepares new report on shooting in Uvalde and law enforcement response