Biden calls on Congress to address gun 'epidemic' after mass shooting

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Following the latest mass shooting in the country, in which an assailant killed eight people at a shopping mall in Allen, Texas, US President Joe Biden has called on Congress to establish a ban on the purchase and use of weapons.

A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday killed eight people before he was himself killed, as per local authorities.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott described the mass shooting as an "unspeakable tragedy."

The youngest of the victims was a five-year-old child, a hospital official said as quoted by NBC News.

Last week, police captured a man suspected of shooting five people-- one of whom died-- at an Atlanta hospital on Wednesday, as per authorities in the southern US city.

In his statement on Saturday, Biden said "Eight Americans -- including children -- were killed yesterday in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation."

Biden urged lawmakers to help end the gun "epidemic" that has plagued the US.

"Once again, I ask Congress to send me a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines," Biden said, adding, "I will sign it immediately. We need nothing less to keep our streets safe."

He also requested that lawmakers mandate universal background checks for gun transactions and that manufacturers whose guns are used in attacks be stripped of legal immunity.

More mass shootings in the US than days thus far in 2023: DHS chief

There have been more mass shootings in 2023 in the United States than there have been days, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on April 21.

"We have had more mass shootings in this country in 2023 than we have days of the year," Mayorkas said at the Council of Foreign Relations.

More and more people are falling victim to mass shootings throughout the country, the DHS chief revealed.

Despite the bleak warnings accompanied by the many mass shootings, the #US is still plunged in the #gunviolence epidemic, and it doesn't seem that it will stop any time soon. pic.twitter.com/8VSQMpWGOd

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2023

According to Mayorkas, it is highly important for law enforcement and local communities to cooperate to prevent massacres. 

The number of US children and teens killed by gunfire witnessed a drastic increase between 2019 and 2021, a publication by Pew Research Center revealed.

Last June, Biden pleaded for lawmakers to pass stricter gun control laws,  including a ban on assault weapons, in a bid to clamp down on unprecedented levels of mass shootings across the United States that have been turning American communities into "killing fields".

"How much more carnage are we willing to accept?" he stressed. "We can't fail the American people again."