Biden mourns with families of 18 slain in deadly Lewiston shooting during visit
President Joe Biden took a trip to Maine on Friday to mourn with the families of the 18 victims slaughtered by a gunman in Lewiston in what has been declared the worst mass shooting in the state's history and the worst so far of 2023.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers Friday to a makeshift memorial outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the scenes of the state’s deadliest mass shooting. They stood for a moment of silence before bending over to hug bar owner Kathy Lebel. Eight people died there in the Oct. 25 massacre, along with seven at the nearby Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley. Three others died at hospitals.
The president delivered remarks to pay his respects to the victims, after meeting with first responders, nurses and other community members. The president will meet privately with families of the victims. In his remarks, the president did not call on Congress to pass specific gun control measures. "We know your hearts are broken, but we also know your spirits are strong," the president said in brief remarks. "The way this community has come together, the way this state has come together, has been a marvel for the rest of the country."
READ MORE: Victims of Lewiston, Maine mass shooting identified as families mourn loss
The president delivered remarks to pay his respects to the victims, after meeting with first responders, nurses and other community members (AFP via Getty Images)Mr. Biden also called attention to the survivors of the shooting, adding: "We also remember the survivors who will forever carry the memories and the physical and emotional scars of this. Regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant a school, a church — without being shot and killed.
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"Scripture says the Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit — and saves the crushed in spirit," the president said. "Our prayer is that the crushed in spirit survive this more rapidly than otherwise."
President Joe Biden walks to his motorcade vehicle after arriving with first lady Jill Biden to Lewiston (AP)The president and first lady went on to meet with people who survived last week's attack, as well as many of the families who lost loved ones.
The president has already visited other communities scarred by mass shootings. He’s been to Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Monterey Park, California, just in roughly the past year. Today's trip is one that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said has become "far too familiar."
"Too many times, the president and the first lady have traveled to communities completely torn apart by gun violence," Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. "As the president said last week, this is not normal, and we can't accept it as normal."
Richard Card entered the bowling alley at Sparetime Recreation and then went to Schemengees Bar & Grille, both popular hangout spots that were hosting events that fateful day on October 25. He opened fire at both, leaving 18 dead and at least 13 others injured, some critically.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers Friday to a makeshift memorial outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the scenes of the state’s deadliest mass shooting (AP)Card was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a days-long search, putting an end to the terror that wracked the small, tight-knit communities he targeted.
Biden's visit on Friday marks yet another visit to the site of a mass shooting in recent months and years — trips White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday were too frequent.
"Too many times the president and first lady have traveled to communities completely torn apart by gun violence," she said. "We can’t accept it as normal." Biden previously visited Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; Monterey Park, California; and several other locations impacted in the last year or so.
There have been 37 mass shootings in the US so far in 2023, with at least 195 people killed, not counting the shooters, a database kept by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University reveals.
The 18 victims of the mass shooting in Lewiston were pictured by the police (Maine State Police/AFP via Getty)Biden previously commented on the prevalence of mass shootings in the country, blaming laws surrounding assault weapons. He created the first-ever White House task force, an office dedicated to gun violence prevention with the purpose of creating national solutions to gun safety and implementing gun safety legislation, some of which was enacted last year. He's calling for a full-out ban on assault-style weapons.
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"There are too many other schools, too many other everyday places that have become killing fields, battlefields here in America," he said during a speech last year.
The ability for Robert Card to obtain the weapon after his family raised concerns about his deteriorating mental health — he had been institutionalised for a few weeks over the summer — sparked widespread concerns over gun laws as well.
Robert Card enters the bowling alley where he slaughtered several individuals (AP)He was still able to purchase his guns and magazines after undergoing a mental health evaluation after erratic behaviour at a training facility over the summer as well.
Biden had a phone conversation with Maine Governor Janet Mills the day of the shooting, which included the state's congressional representatives. She has said that the president's visit on Friday will be significant because it will show his support for the state as it undergoes the grieving process and recovers from the tragedy.
"By visiting us in our time of need, the president and first lady are making clear that the entire nation stands with Lewiston and with Maine — and for that I am profoundly grateful," she said.
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