Former Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday urged Americans not to give in to “hopelessness” in the wake of the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, while reiterating the need to take steps against gun violence.
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“Americans again murdered in a place of worship. Jill and I send our prayers to Sutherland Springs,” Biden tweeted after news of the mass shooting that left at least 26 people dead.
“These tragedies aren’t inevitable. Don’t let hopelessness win today. We must persist in our efforts to prevent gun violence,” he added.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Sunday told reporters that a male suspect had opened fire both outside and inside the church in Sutherland Springs, located outside San Antonio.
The suspect died, though authorities said it was unclear whether he had shot himself or had been killed by an armed citizen who confronted him.
The incident, which Abbott said was the worst mass shooting in Texas’s history, occurred just over a month after a massacre in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead. That shooting is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history to date.
In the aftermath of the Las Vegas killings, Biden explicitly called on the government to take action on gun control.
“How long do we let gun violence tear families apart? Enough. Congress & the [White House] should act now to save lives. There’s no excuse for inaction,” he tweeted at the time.