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Texas School Shooting Continues Call For Gun Control Following Buffalo Shooting
On Tuesday, a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas left 21 dead. Many Americans are now calling for strict gun control laws.
The conversation about gun control has gotten strict after two mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. less than two weeks apart. After 10 victims were killed during a racially-charged shooting in Buffalo on May 14, on Tuesday (May 23) a deadly shooting transpired at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, leaving 19 students and 2 adults dead, according to NBC News. The suspected shooter – who is now deceased – was 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. Ramos fled to the elementary school after shooting his grandmother, who is currently in critical condition.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke on Ramos being killed by law enforcement during a confrontation at the school.
“It is believed that he abandoned his vehicle, then entered into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with a handgun, and he may have also had a rifle,” Abbott said. “He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher.”
President Joe Biden also gave an address Tuesday evening about the shooting.
"As a nation, we have to ask: When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?" Biden asked.
"I spent my career as a senator and as Vice President working to pass commonsense gun laws," he added. "We can’t and won’t prevent every tragedy. But we know they work and have a positive impact. When we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. When the law expired, mass shootings tripled."
Many Twitter users expressed their outrage with the school shooting, calling for gun control and a closer look into the internet usage of teenage boys. Buffalo shooter Payton Gendron actively used anonymous forum website 4chan, wrote an 180-page manifesto, and live-streamed the mass shooting on Twitch. According to The Telegraph, Ramos tagged an unidentified woman on Instagram pictures of his guns before messaging her to ask if she would repost the images. The last message Ramos sent read, "Ima air out," at 9:16 AM before the school shooting began at 11:32 AM.
Read what people are saying about gun control laws:
\u201cevery time this happens I watch the conversation move toward the why. Mental health, race, class, domestic dispute etc. I kind of can\u2019t stand that because all it does is protect the only constant in each case: a gun.\u201d— quinta brunson (@quinta brunson) 1653431200
\u201cWe\u2019ll hear GOP members say we shouldn\u2019t focus on guns, but rather on mental health. Meanwhile, they don\u2019t support providing every American with healthcare.\n\nIt\u2019s all about preserving big money interests.\u201d— Nina Turner (@Nina Turner) 1653487260
\u201cWe should feel safe at school, grocery stores, churches, parks, and in our own homes but weak gun laws, like Ohio\u2019s permitless carry, threaten our security. It\u2019s going to take all of us fighting to end senseless gun violence! #EndGunViolence\u201d— Bria Bennett (@Bria Bennett) 1653488054