President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass stricter gun control measures after the latest mass shooting at a Northern California rail yard Wednesday, in which nine people were killed.
"I have the solemn duty of yet again of ordering the flag to be lowered at half-staff, just weeks after doing so following the mass shootings at spas in and around Atlanta; in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado; at a home in Rock Hill, South Carolina; and at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana," Biden said in a statement.
A public transit employee opened fire on co-workers at the downtown San Jose rail yard Wednesday, killing nine people, before he died by suicide, authorities said. The shooter was identified as Samuel Cassidy, an employee of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, law enforcement sources said.
Firearm sales have set records and gun violence has spiked nationwide over the last year.
"We are still awaiting many of the details of this latest mass shooting, but there are some things we know for sure. There are at least eight families who will never be whole again," Biden said in the statement before the ninth death was announced. "There are children, parents, and spouses who are waiting to hear whether someone they love is ever going to come home. There are union brothers and sisters — good, honest, hardworking people — who are mourning their own.
"Enough," he said.
"Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America. Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more."
Biden last month called on Congress to take action on gun control in his first joint address to Congress, such as banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as closing background check loopholes. "This shouldn't be a red or blue issue," he said at the time.
However, lawmakers appear to be at loggerheads over passing significant reforms. In his statement Wednesday, Biden renewed that call.
