Biden to speak on ‘horrible’ Texas school shooting Tuesday night

U.S. President Joe Biden and Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a bilateral meeting in conjunction with the Quadruple Summit at Kantei Palace in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has called Texas Governor Greg Abbott to offer any necessary assistance in the wake of the “horrible shooting” at a Texas elementary school, and will speak to the nation about it on Tuesday. the White House said.

Biden was briefed on the shooting aboard Air Force One while returning from a trip to Asia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter.

Authorities said 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at an elementary school in south Texas, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, killing at least 18 children and one adult, before he was apparently killed by gunmen. police officers who responded to the scene.

Biden is expected to speak after 8:30 p.m. (00:30 GMT Wednesday) from the White House.

“His prayers are with the families affected by this terrible event,” said Jean-Pierre.

In a proclamation issued before landing, Biden ordered that the flags at the White House and at public and federal buildings in the United States fly at half-staff until sunset on May 28.

Biden spoke with Abbott from Air Force One and offered “any and all help” needed, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on Twitter.

“Enough is enough,” Vice President Kamala Harris said before Biden spoke. “As a nation, we must have the courage to act and understand the nexus between what constitutes reasonable and sensible public policy to ensure something like this never happens again.”

The shooting gives Biden, already facing the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, another crisis on top of 40-year high inflation rates and the war in Ukraine. read more

It came just 10 days after a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store, and increased pressure on the Biden administration to make good on its promises to end gun violence.

When he ran for president, Biden promised to boost gun safety measures and reduce the tens of thousands of annual gun deaths in the country. Biden and his fellow Democrats failed to get enough votes in Congress on background checks for gun purchases or other proposed bills.

The United States is the most heavily armed society in the world, according to the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based research group. Small, rural states where gun ownership is widespread have disproportionate influence in the US Senate, where a large 60-vote majority is needed to advance most laws in the 100-seat chamber. read more

Reporting by Rami Ayyub, Andrea Shalal, and Trevor Hunnicutt; Edited by Leslie Adler, Cynthia Osterman, Heather Timmons

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.