Joe Biden arrived in the Texas town of Uvalde on Sunday, five days after the elementary school shooting, to support loved ones orphaned by the hunt that shocked America and rekindled the gun debate.
Accompanied by his wife Jill Biden, the American president, a devout Catholic, gathered in front of an improvised memorial near the murder scene.
The first lady laid a bouquet in front of a small brick wall named Robb Elementary School, which will forever be synonymous with one of the worst hunts in U.S. history.
Nineteen children and two teachers died Tuesday at Robb school in Uvalde under the bullets of Salvador Ramos, 18 years old.
Wearing a dark suit and dark glasses, Joe and Jill Biden walked toward a row of large photos decorated with white flowers, showing the faces of broken children, between 9 and 11.
They reviewed them, Joe Biden shaking at one point, as if still not believing in the tragedy. For her part, Jill Biden touched every face with a caress.
Losing a child is like a piece of your soul being taken away from youhe said on Tuesday. Nothing like that again.
Joe Biden, who also lost his infant daughter and his first wife in a car accident, will be able to get married and perhaps relieve the pain of the families he must meet after attending a mass.
You can’t make dramas illegal, I know that. But we can make America saferthe President of the United States pleaded on Saturday, regretting so many places, so many innocent people died.
A more stringent framework for weapons is unlikely
The 79-year-old Democrat wants to destroy America’s gruesome work, which is regularly plagued by shootings, without significant gun reforms to follow.
But the head of state can hardly promise action to those demanding tighter gun control.
The very narrow Democratic majority in Congress does not allow him to pass meaningful legislation on the subject alone. The elected representatives of his camp will have to convince some Republicans to get the required qualified majority.
The White House, which is reluctant to involve Joe Biden too much in the political battle, said on Thursday that it has need the help of congressin the voice of its spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre.
Negotiations are taking place there, and some elected officials considered it possible, on Sunday, to put in place stricter laws. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said he felt it a different mindset to his colleagues.
It remains to be seen whether Republicans will do so show political couragehe added on the CNN channel.
The Uvalde massacre and the faces of its young victims have returned to America in the nightmare of school shootings.
Residents of this small town await their president on Sunday, a visit importantjudged Frank Campos, 52, who lives in nearby San Antonio.
But how many more schools will he attend? We need to end it allhe said, calling for restrictions on access to weapons.
Illustration of the country’s divisions, Luis Luera, 50, thinks that such a law will not change anything: criminals will make way to obtain weapons.
The children witnessed the horror
Since the massacre, the first testimonies of students who came out alive from Robb’s school have provided a glimpse into the nightmare they experienced.
Entering the room, the shooter told the children: you will all diebefore firing, told Samuel Salinas, 10, on the ABC channel.
I think he was targeting metestified to the young man, but was blocked by a chair between him and the shooter.
In the room on the floor full of blood, Samuel Salinas tried, so as not to be targeted by gunfire. pretend to be dead.
Miah Cerrillo, 11, tried to escape Salvador Ramos ’attention in the same way. The girl wrapped herself in the blood of a companion, who was next to her body, she explained to CNN.
Only now did he see the young man kill his teacher, after telling him good night.
It was about an hour on Tuesday before police ended the massacre. The 19 agents at the site are waiting to be attacked by a special unit.
A delay in intervention caused intense controversy, and a mea culpa from Texas authorities.
However, police received numerous calls from people in the two affected classrooms, including one from a child begging: please send the font now.
Source: Radio-Canada
