President Joe Biden offered words of condolences after a mass shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina, killed five people.
A shooter opened fire on Thursday evening and killed five people, including an off-duty police officer. Another officer from a Raleigh K-9 office was shot and was being treated. Police caught the suspect after four hours in a home and arrested him.
ABC11 identified the victims as Nicole Connors, 5; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 35, Gabriel Torres, 29; and a 16-year-old who was not named.
“Jill and I are grieving with the families in Raleigh, North Carolina, whose loved ones were killed and wounded in yet another mass shooting in America,” Mr Biden said in a statement. “We are thinking of yet another community shaken and shattered as they mourn the loss of friends and neighbors, including an off-duty police officer.”
The presidentcalled for legislative action to end gun violence.
Mr Biden said he offered assistance to Governor Roy Cooper to assist local authorities.
“Enough,” he said. “We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings. Too many families have had spouses, parents, and children taken from them forever. This year, and even in just the five months since Buffalo and Uvalde, there are too many mass shootings across America, including ones that don’t even make the national news.”
Congress passed the first piece of gun legislation in 28 years earlier but Mr Biden has pledged to go further if Democrats hold the House and gain two additional Senate seats.
“We must pass an assault weapons ban,” he said in his statement. “The American people support this commonsense action to get weapons of war off our streets. House Democrats have already passed it. The Senate should do the same. Send it to my desk and I’ll sign it.”
