President Joe Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden were “shocked” by the mass shooting that tore through an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday, killing six people and 24 others in hospital.
The president described it as yet another example of “irrational gun violence that has once again brought grief to American society.”
In a statement, Mr. Biden said he and Mrs. Biden were “grateful” for the efforts of law enforcement officials who responded to the bloody spectacle, and said he had shown Illinois Governor JB Priesker and Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rottering the “full”. Federal government support,” including increasing the number of law enforcement officers to assist in the ongoing search for the suspected shooter.
“Community members must follow driving guidelines on the ground, and I will be watching closely as we learn more about those who lost their lives and pray for those in hospital with serious injuries,” Biden said.
The shooting in Highland Park, an affluent suburb of Chicago, comes just weeks after Biden signed into law the first major federal gun safety legislation to pass through Congress in decades.
Biden said the bill he signed would save lives, but stressed that “there is a lot of work to be done” and vowed not to give up in the fight against gun violence.
Shortly after Biden released his statement, Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters that she and the president were working “in close coordination” and were briefed on the situation as the manhunt for the alleged shooter began.
“Right now we have an active shooting situation, and so we’re putting all possible resources into monitoring that in a way that we can bring this to an end in terms of also arresting this individual,” she said.
Ms. Harris said she will travel to Chicago on Tuesday to speak at the teachers’ union at the National Teachers Association.