Biden condemns Georgia school shooting

Expressing condolences to the victims of a school shooting in Georgia, President Joe Biden has called on Republicans to work with Democrats in the US Congress to pass gun safety legislation to help prevent future gun violence in the United States.

At least four people, including two students, were killed and nine others injured in a shooting by a fellow student at a high school in the US state of Georgia on Wednesday, CNN reported.

Biden called the shootings “another horrific reminder of how gun violence is tearing our communities apart.”

“Jill (Biden) and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short by senseless gun violence and thinking of all the survivors whose lives are forever changed. What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The US President lamented that students across the country were “learning to crouch and hide instead of learning to read and write.”

“We cannot accept this as normal,” Biden said. “We are working closely with authorities at the federal, state and local levels, and are grateful to the first responders who took the suspect into custody and saved further lives.”

Additionally, Biden reaffirmed his/her commitment to combating the gun violence epidemic in America and highlighted his/her efforts to address the issue, including signing the bipartisan Safe Communities Act.

“Ending this gun violence epidemic is personal for me. That’s why I’ve signed the bipartisan Safe Communities Act – the most meaningful gun safety bill in decades – and announced dozens of gun safety executive actions. I established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, under the supervision of Vice President Harris. We’ve made significant progress, but this crisis requires even more,” the US President said.

Biden called on Republicans to work with Democrats in Congress to pass gun safety legislation to prevent future gun violence and said “enough is enough.”

“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and join with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. We must once again ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of firearms, implement universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures won’t bring back those who tragically died today, but they will help prevent more tragic gun violence from tearing more families apart,” Biden said.

US Vice President Kamala Harris also offered condolences to those affected by the shooting and called it a “senseless tragedy.”

“Today, Doug and I are mourning the lives lost to gun violence at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Our thoughts are with the students, teachers, and families affected by this shooting, and we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. This is a senseless tragedy — and it didn’t have to happen. We must end our country’s epidemic of gun violence once and for all,” Kamala Harris said.

Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp also posted on X, saying “I have directed all available state resources to respond to the incident at Apalachee High School and urge all Georgians to join my family in prayer for the safety of students in our classrooms in Barrow County and across the state.”

“We will continue to work closely with local, state and federal partners to gather information and follow up on this situation.”

Meanwhile, the suspected gunman is in custody and has been identified as 14-year-old Colt Cray, a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, about an hour from Atlanta. Those killed were two students and two teachers. Law enforcement agencies are still investigating the shooting and the motive behind it.

Several law enforcement officials told CNN that the high school had previously received phone threats.

The phone call Wednesday morning warned that there would be shootings at five schools and that Apalachee would be the first. It is not known who made the call. Officials told CNN they are investigating the call and where it came from.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 385 mass shootings in the US so far this year. Like CNN, it also considers a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot. That means there are an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day.