President Joe Biden said that the shooting-at the Super Bowl victory celebration in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday “cuts deep in the American soul,” and he once again renewed his call for gun control.
“The Super Bowl is the most unifying event in America. Nothing brings more of us together. And the celebration of a Super Bowl win is a moment that brings a joy that can’t be matched to the winning team and their supporters,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday night.
“For this joy to be turned to tragedy today in Kansas City cuts deep in the American soul,” he said.
At least one person was killed and 22 were injured during a parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.
The deceased victim was identified as Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a DJ for Kansas City radio station KKFI. Among the injured were at least nine children who were being treated for gunshot wounds, according to a local hospital.
A gunman has not been identified yet, but officials say that three people have been taken into custody.
“Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting. What are we waiting for? What else do we need to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?” Biden said.
In his statement, the president echoed his previous calls for gun law reform, including reinstating bans on assault weapons, limiting high-capacity magazines and strengthening background checks.
The Kansas City shooting occurred on the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people and injured 17 others.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more mass shootings than days so far in 2024, with 49 mass shootings in 19 states and Washington D.C. Last year, more than 40,000 people were killed by gun violence and over 600 mass shootings occurred, including one of the deadliest in recent decades, an Oct. 25 massacre of 18 people in Lewiston, Maine.
“The epidemic of gun violence is ripping apart families and communities every day. Some make the news. Much of it doesn’t. But all of it is unacceptable,” Biden said.
“We have to decide who we are as a country. For me, we’re a country where people should have the right to go to school, to go to church, to walk the street — and to attend a Super Bowl celebration — without fear of losing your life to gun violence.”
