President Biden called for “greater action” on gun control in a statement released Wednesday morning after police said a store employee at a Virginia Walmart used a pistol to kill six people and wound four others.
“Jill and I grieve for those families, for the Chesapeake community, and for the Commonwealth of Virginia, which just suffered a terrible shooting at the University of Virginia this month,” Biden said. “We also mourn for all those across America who have lost loved ones to these tragic shootings that we must come together as a nation to stand against.”
“This year, I signed the most significant gun reform in a generation, but that is not nearly enough,” the president continued. “We must take greater action.”
The mass shooting at the store in Chesapeake, Virginia, was carried out by one of the store’s employees, police said. The male employee used a pistol in the attack and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky told reporters Wednesday morning.
WALMART EMPLOYEE IN CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA KILLS 6 WITH PISTOL, POLICE SAY
President Biden waves as he boards Air Force One, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The conditions of the four others who were hospitalized was not immediately available.
In this image from video police respond to the scene of a fatal shooting at a Walmart on Tuesday night, Nov. 22, 2022, in Chesapeake, Va.
(WAVY-TV 10 via AP)
The employee has not been identified, as police say they have yet to contact his next of kin. Prior to the shooting, officials say he was not familiar to law enforcement.
Police said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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The incident is the latest deadly shooting to unfold in the weeks before Thanksgiving.
On Nov. 13, an on-campus shooting at the University of Virginia killed three football players and wounded two others. A week later, a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, left five dead and 17 wounded.
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Biden described the latest Virginia shooting as “yet another horrific and senseless act of violence.”
“There are now more families who know the worst kind of loss and pain imaginable,” Biden said, adding that “now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving.”
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
