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A US senator who came to Congress representing Sandy Hook, has begged his colleagues to take action on gun violence following a primary school shooting in Texas.
In an impassioned speech, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy demanded his colleagues to pass legislation to address gun violence in the US, after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at a Texan primary school killing 19 children and two adults.
Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, around 80 miles west of San Antonio, with a handgun moving from classroom to classroom.
First victim named in Texas shooting – live updates
The massacre of young children was another gruesome moment for a country scarred by an almost ceaseless string of mass killings at churches, schools and stores.
Democrat Mr Murphy represented the area of Newtown, when a gunman killed 26 students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, almost a decade ago.
In a speech to Congress, Mr Murphy said “we have another Sandy Hook on our hands” and asked: “What are we doing?
“I’m here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues. Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely.”
The Archbishop of San Antonio, Gustavo Garcia Seller comforts families. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
He continued: “Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking they might be shot that day.
“Sandy Hook will never, ever be the same and this community in Texas will never, ever be the same,” he added.
Mr Murphy expressed hope that compromise on gun control measures is possible, adding that “there is a common denominator that we can find” between colleagues.
US President Joe Biden echoed calls to stand up to the gun lobby and to pressure Congress to pass sensible gun laws.
He asked: “As a nation, we have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”
Biden suggested reinstating the assault weapons ban and other “common sense gun laws”.
Joe Biden calls the Texas shooting another ‘massacre’. Pic: AP
Tuesday’s attack in Texas was the deadliest shooting at a US grade school since Sandy Hook.
In 2012, a 19-year-old man killed his mother at their home in Newtown and then went to the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first graders and six educators; he took his own life.
In May 2018 in Texas, a 17-year-old opened fire at Santa Fe High School killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said.
The shooting also comes shortly after a gunman opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing 10 black shoppers and workers in what officials have described as a hate crime.
US officials, members of Congress and other prominent Americans, including former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris have expressed outrage at the attack.
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