Washington, United States:
US President Joe Biden on Sunday reiterated his call for a national ban on assault weapons and other gun safety measures, a day after eight people were killed at a Texas mall in the latest mass shooting to shake the nation.
Emergency responders, distressed witnesses and police described scenes of panic and horror north of Dallas, where video footage circulated online showed the gunman exiting a sedan in an outlet mall parking lot on Saturday and firing a semi-automatic rifle at people walking nearby.
An officer on an unrelated call nearby responded quickly and “neutralized” the gunman at the large facility in Allen, police said.
In addition to the shooter, seven people were pronounced dead at the scene. Two other victims died in hospital while “three are undergoing critical surgery and four are stable,” Allen fire chief Jonathan Boyd said Saturday.
Multiple U.S. news outlets, all citing unnamed law enforcement sources, identified the gunman as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia on Sunday.
“Yesterday, eight Americans — including children — were killed in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation,” Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday morning.
He ordered U.S. flags to be lowered to half-mast “as a sign of respect for the victims” and reiterated his call for lawmakers to take action against a “firearms epidemic.”
“Again I ask Congress to send me a bill that would ban assault weapons and major magazines,” the 80-year-old Democrat said.
He also demanded lawmakers require universal background checks for gun purchases and end legal immunity for manufacturers whose guns are used in attacks.
“I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe,” Joe Biden said in a statement.
The attack is the latest in an alarming streak of deadly gun violence in the US. Just a week earlier, a man shot and killed five neighbors in Cleveland, Texas, after one of them asked him to stop firing his shotgun in his yard at night while a baby slept.
Several other people have also been shot in recent weeks over petty disputes or common mistakes, such as knocking on the wrong door or getting into the wrong car.
Overrun with guns, the United States has already endured 199 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more injured or killed.
“Too many families have empty chairs at their dining tables,” said President Biden, berating his political opponents for doing nothing.
“Republican members of Congress can no longer shrug this epidemic,” he said. “Tweet thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
No ‘quick fix’
The gunfire at Allen Premium Outlets, 35 miles (55 kilometers) north of Dallas, broke out Saturday afternoon as it was busy with weekend shoppers, police said.
The officer at the mall “heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect,” said Chief Brian Harvey of the Allen Police Department.
Joe Biden joined local officials in praising the police’s prompt actions for likely saving lives.
The police chief later said authorities believe the unknown gunman “acted alone”. DailyExpertNews showed a cropped photo of the apparent gunman lying dead on the ground, dressed in tactical gear with extra magazines and carrying an AR-15 style rifle at his side.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the shooting an “unspeakable tragedy.”
But on Sunday, as Democrats repeatedly called on Congress to enact gun safety legislation and accused Texas and other states of allowing the carrying of firearms without permission, the Republican governor refused to be swayed by whether the limiting guns was one answer.
“People want a quick fix. The long-term solution is to address the mental health problem,” including increased “anger and violence” in America, he told Fox News on Sunday.
‘Unfathomable’ carnage
Steven Spainhouer, a former police officer, said he was confronted with horrifying images as he rushed to the scene and performed CPR on victims before emergency services arrived.
When he found a female victim on the ground, “I felt her pulse, pulled her head to the side and she had no face,” Mr. Spainhouer told CBS News. He found another victim’s son lying alive beneath his dead mother and “covered from head to toe” in her blood.
“It’s just unfathomable to see the carnage,” he said.
With more guns than residents, the United States has the highest number of gun-related deaths of any developed country: 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the previous year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)