Crime & Justice

Biden rips congressional Republicans after 5 die in latest US mass shooting

Washington, Apr 10 (EFE).- US President Joe Biden placed blame on Republicans in Congress after a new mass shooting Monday left five dead in Louisville, Kentucky, saying the lack of further gun-control measures is fueling a growing list of tragedies.

“Once again, our nation mourns after a senseless act of gun violence – (first lady) Jill (Biden) and I pray for the lives lost and impacted by today’s shooting,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?”

Biden has repeatedly called on the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that allow assailants to kill large numbers of people without stopping to reload.

The US Congress enacted a federal assault weapons ban in 1994 as part of a crime bill, but that law expired in 2004 and has not been renewed.

Monday’s shooting in Louisville occurred at around 8.30 am at a building in the downtown area of that southeastern city that housed a branch of Old National Bank.

The alleged gunman killed four people – three men and a woman, aged 40-67 – and left nine others wounded, including two law-enforcement officers. The suspected shooter also died after an exchange of gunfire with police who had rushed to the crime scene.

“We have a total of nine victims who are being treated” at University of Louisville hospital, Louisville Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, said at a press conference Monday afternoon. “Three which are in critical condition, including our officer,” identified as Nickolas Wilt.

She said that recently sworn-in officer had been struck in the head and is in critical but stable condition after undergoing brain surgery, adding that three other victims are currently hospitalized in non-critical condition and three others were treated and released.

Gwinn-Villaroel said the shooter, whom she identified as 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, was employed at the bank and live-streamed the attack.

Referring to the firearm used, she said only that a rifle was the gunman’s “weapon of choice.”

This latest instance of gun violence comes two weeks after a mass shooting at a private parochial school in Nashville, Tennessee, left seven dead, including three children and the shooter.

In that attack, a former student used an AR-15-style rifle, a semi-automatic carbine and a handgun. EFE

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