Macron shares grief with families after Texas school mass shooting
Nineteen of the 21 victims were young children. Sixteen mass-shootings have already taken place in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive
President Emmanuel Macron has taken to Twitter to offer his condolences to the American people following the mass shooting that killed 21 people at a primary school in Texas yesterday (May 24), shocking the nation.
The shooting happened at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, a town west of San Antonio, near to the Mexican border, when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos went on a rampage before being shot dead by police, according to first reports from American newspapers.
“19 victims were under age 10. Children and teachers were murdered in a cowardly attack in their Texas school. We share the shock and grief of the American people, and the rage of those who are fighting to end the violence,” tweeted Mr Macron, earlier in the morning.
Mr Macron is among the first foreign leaders to send a message to the American people and condemn the attack along with expressions of support for the families of the victims from other American politicians.
This shooting has raked up memories of the Sandy Hook attack, where 26 people were killed at their school in Connecticut in 2012.
No motive has been reported as yet.
Pope Francis and a growing body of political leaders, sports personalities and artists were quick to criticise the country’s gun laws, demanding more regulation on gun control.
President Joe Biden stated: “These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world. Why?...
“Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it and stand up to the lobbies?
“It’s time to turn this pain into action.
“For those who obstruct or delay or block common sense gun laws, we need to let you know that we will not forget.”
Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr denounced the attack during a press conference ahead of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals’ in a tearful and angry speech that particularly resonated on social media and within the American press.
“When are we gonna do something?” shouted Mr Kerr, his hands banging on the table.
Mr Kerr denounced Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and “50 senators” for refusing to act against violence as the House debates HR8, a bill that would expand background checks for gun purchases.
The carnage in Uvalde comes just a week after the US suffered another mass-shooting in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where an 18-year-old white man killed 10 African-American people as part of a racially-motivated killing spree.
The Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012 characterises an incident as being a mass-shooting when more than three people are killed in a single incident.
Under this definition, 16 mass-shootings have been reported by the Gun Violence Archive since January 1, 2022, while a total of 213 incidents involving people being injured or killed by gun violence have also been recorded.
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