乔·拜登总统在周一下午分享了他的“震惊”和支持在7月4日的游行中发生致命的大规模枪击事件后当天早些时候在芝加哥郊区越来越长的大规模枪击事件在美国。
在他的声明中，拜登还指出了尚未被拘留的嫌疑枪手构成的威胁。
“在这个独立日，无意义的枪支暴力再次给美国社区带来悲痛，吉尔和我对此感到震惊。一如既往，我们感谢现场的第一反应人员和执法人员。我已经与普利茨克州长和罗特林市长谈过了，并向他们的社区提供了联邦政府的全力支持，”拜登说，他指的是第一夫人吉尔·拜登和伊利诺伊州官员。
“我还要求联邦执法部门协助紧急搜寻枪手，他目前仍然在逃，”总统说。
“社区成员应该听从当地领导的指导，我将密切关注我们对那些丧生者的更多了解，并为那些在医院受重伤的人祈祷，”他补充说。
在突访加利福尼亚州圣莫尼卡消防站期间，副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯在另一次评论中表示，她和拜登“一直在密切协调，我们正在听取关于活跃枪手情况的简报。我们正在向当地执法人员派遣联邦资源，以确保我们能够在抓获枪手以及随后的任何调查方面帮助他们。”
哈里斯指出，她将于周二上午前往芝加哥，在全国教育协会发表讲话。
“我刚刚与我们的一些英雄，我们当地的消防员分享了我准备的那部分内容——很遗憾我之前就在准备，每天都有共鸣——是关于我们老师经历的一整节。他们去学校学习如何教育我们的孩子，激发他们的雄心，创造未来一代的领导人，我们的老师也在接受培训，以应对一个积极的射手，”哈里斯说。"我们的老师必须学会如何给中弹的孩子绑止血带。"
她说:“因此，当我们审视枪支暴力问题，审视它给社区带来的危险时，它的范围很广，是我们应该非常认真对待的事情。”。
在一份书面声明中，哈里斯说，“在本应与家人和朋友庆祝的一天，我们为伊利诺伊州高地公园另一场无谓的枪支暴力中丧生的人感到悲伤。道格和我正在为住院的数十人以及今天遇难者的亲人祈祷。
“我们感谢执法部门和第一批到达现场的急救人员，他们无疑拯救了生命，”她继续说道。“今天的枪击事件明确无误地提醒我们，应该采取更多措施来解决我们国家的枪支暴力问题。”
他们的评论得到了一系列当地领导人的回应，包括伊利诺伊州州长J.B. Pritzker、纽约州州长Kathy Hochul等人。此前，伊利诺伊州高地公园(Highland Park)的一场游行中发生枪击事件，造成至少6人死亡，另有24人受重伤。北岸大学卫生系统周一表示，共有31名患者，其中大多数人受了枪伤，一些人在混乱中受伤。
警方称，枪手嫌疑人被认为是一名年轻的白人男子。
当局最初称这次枪击是“随机的暴力行为”进一步的动机尚未得到证实。
拜登在周一的声明中说，“我最近签署了近30年来第一项重要的两党枪支改革立法，其中包括拯救生命的行动。但是还有很多工作要做，我不会放弃与枪支暴力的斗争。”
正如他提到的，国会刚刚通过了反枪支暴力立法包括适度的枪支改革和加强对年轻人的背景调查，为精神健康、学校安全等提供资金。该协议是自20世纪90年代以来最全面的立法。
在其他措施中，新法律重点关注非法枪支贩运者，并堵塞了所谓的“男友漏洞”，以限制更多被判犯有家庭暴力罪的人获得枪支。
该立法还鼓励各州采用“红旗”法律，允许执法部门从那些被认为对自己或他人构成危险的人手中收缴枪支，并加强了对18至21岁枪支购买者的背景调查。
导致立法的两党会谈是由纽约布法罗和德克萨斯州乌瓦尔迪的其他大规模枪击事件引发的。
拜登和其他民主党人呼吁分歧严重的国会采取更全面的行动，包括恢复在此类屠杀中经常使用的攻击性武器的禁令。共和党议员长期抵制枪支法，认为它们违反了第二修正案。
全国步枪协会同样表示反对“过于宽泛”的新枪支法案，该法案“在各个层面上都存在不足”。
“这项立法可能被滥用来限制合法的枪支购买，侵犯守法的美国人的权利，并使用联邦资金资助州和地方政客采取的枪支控制措施，”该组织上个月表示。"这项法案给政府官员留下了太多的自由裁量权。"
拜登此前计划低调地于7月4日在白宫举行活动。
周一下午早些时候，他从总统在戴维营的度假地返回华盛顿，随后计划7月4日在白宫南草坪为军人家庭举行烧烤。拜登夫妇还计划于美国东部时间晚上9点在白宫观看国家广场的烟花表演。
当天早些时候，总统看起来在庆祝活动之前听起来很乐观，但随后被高地公园的杀人事件所掩盖。
“7月4日在我们国家是一个神圣的日子——这是一个庆祝我们国家的美好的时刻，我们是地球上唯一一个建立在一个理念基础上的国家:所有人生来平等，”拜登说发微博。"毫无疑问，我们最好的日子还在前面。"
拜登去年备受期待地宣布，在新冠肺炎的三角洲变种席卷美国之前，美国“比以往任何时候都更接近于宣布我们从一种致命病毒中独立出来”，此后，人们预计拜登一整天都不会发表公开言论。
Biden shares 'shock' at July 4th parade mass shooting: 'More work to do' to stop gun violence
President Joe Biden on Monday afternoon shared his "shock" and support after a deadly mass shooting at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb earlier that day -- the latest in an ever-longer string of mass shootings in America.
In his statement, Biden also noted the threat posed by the suspected gunman, who had not yet been taken into custody.
“Jill and I are shocked by the senseless gun violence that has yet again brought grief to an American community on this Independence Day. As always, we are grateful for the first responders and law enforcement on the scene. I have spoken to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Rotering, and have offered the full support of the Federal government to their communities," Biden said, referencing first lady Jill Biden and Illinois officials.
"I also surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter, who remains at large at this time," the president said.
“Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with grievous injuries,” he added.
In separate comments during a surprise visit to a Santa Monica, California, fire station, Vice President Kamala Harris said she and Biden "have been in close coordination and we are being briefed on what's happening right now in terms of the active shooter situation. We are sending federal resources to local law enforcement folks on the ground to make sure that we can help them in terms of the capture of the shooter and any investigation that will follow."
Harris noted she was set to travel to Chicago Tuesday morning to address the National Education Association.
"I was just sharing with some of our heroes, our local firefighters, that part of what I'm preparing -- sadly I was preparing it before, it's resonant every day -- is a whole section on what our teachers go through. They go to school to learn how to teach our children, to inspire their ambition, to create the future generations of leaders, and our teachers are also in training to deal with an active shooter," Harris said. "Our teachers are having to learn how to put a tourniquet on a kid if they have been shot."
"And so when we look at the issue of gun violence and when we look at the dangers that it presents to communities, it ranges and it is something that we should take very seriously," she said.
In a written statement, Harris said, in part: "On what should be a celebratory day with family and friends, we are grieving the lives that were taken in another act of senseless gun violence in Highland Park, Illinois. Doug and I are praying for the dozens of people who have been hospitalized and for the loved ones of those who were lost today.
"We are thankful to law enforcement and the first responders who arrived at the scene today and undoubtedly saved lives," she continued. "Today’s shooting is an unmistakable reminder that more should be done to address gun violence in our country."
Their comments -- echoed by a range of local leaders, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and others -- come after at least six people were killed and another 24 seriously hurt at a shooting during a parade in Highland Park, Illinois. The NorthShore University Health System said Monday it had a total of 31 patients, most of whom suffered gunshot wounds and some of whom were hurt in the chaos.
Police said the suspected gunman is believed to be a young, white man.
Authorities initially called the shooting a "random act of violence." A further motive has not been confirmed.
Biden said in his statement Monday that “I recently signed the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost thirty years into law, which includes actions that will save lives. But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence."
As he referenced, Congress just passed anti-gun violence legislation that included modest firearm reforms and boosts to background checks for young people with funding for mental health, school security and more. The deal was the most comprehensive legislation on the issue since the 1990s.
Among other measures, the new law focused on illegal gun traffickers and closed the so-called "boyfriend loophole" to restrict more people convicted of domestic violence from obtaining a firearm.
The legislation also incentivizes states to adopt "red flag" laws, which allow law enforcement to remove guns from those deemed a danger to themselves or others, and it boosted background checks for gun buyers between 18 and 21 years old.
The bipartisan talks that led to the legislation were sparked by other mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
Biden and other Democrats had called on the narrowly divided Congress to take more sweeping action -- including reinstating the ban on assault-style weapons often used in such massacres. Republican lawmakers have long resisted gun laws, arguing they violate the Second Amendment.
The National Rifle Association likewise voiced its opposition to the "overbroad" new gun bill that "falls short at every level."
"This legislation can be abused to restrict lawful gun purchases, infringe upon the rights of law-abiding Americans, and use federal dollars to fund gun control measures being adopted by state and local politicians," the group said last month. "This bill leaves too much discretion in the hands of government officials."
Biden had previously planned a low-key July 4 at the White House.
He returned to Washington from the presidential retreat at Camp David early Monday afternoon before a planned July Fourth barbecue on the South Lawn for military families. The Bidens were also scheduled to watch the fireworks on the National Mall from the White House at 9 p.m. ET.
Earlier in the day, the president looked to sound an optimistic tone ahead of the festivities -- subsequently darkened by the Highland Park killings.
“The Fourth of July is a sacred day in our country – it's a time to celebrate the goodness of our nation, the only nation on Earth founded based on an idea: that all people are created equal,” Biden tweeted. “Make no mistake, our best days still lie ahead.”
Biden had also been expected to keep his public remarks throughout the day short after his highly anticipated declaration last year that the country was “closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus” came right before COVID-19's delta variant swept through the U.S.
