Democratic lawmakers, including the two top congressional Democrats, are calling for gun control in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Minneapolis school on Wednesday.
"I’m horrified by the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis and closely monitoring the situation. I’m thankful for the first responders on the scene," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on X. "Students and teachers should not be putting their lives on the line just by going back to school. We must do more to stop gun violence in America."
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the shooting "horrifying."
"Praying for the children, families and first responders during this moment of terror and unimaginable grief," Jeffries said. "Weapons of war have no place in our neighborhoods, streets or schools."
Along similar lines, Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., wrote on social media that he was "horrified" by the shooting, followed by a call for stricter firearm legislation in the U.S.
"Events like these should not be our ‘normal.’ The simple solution is to pass sensible gun control. Without that, these tragedies will continue to happen, and children will continue to die," Thanedar wrote.
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The Richfield Police Department said that as many as 20 people were victims of the shooting. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters during a press conference that two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting. He said their parents were notified of the tragic news.
The Minneapolis Police Department shared a message from the city of Minneapolis confirming "there is no active threat to the community at this time," and "the shooter is contained." Sources told Fox 9 that the suspect – who has not been publicly identified – is deceased.
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Meanwhile, Minnesota lawmakers on both sides of the aisle offered prayers for the victims and their families.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, said in a statement, "We are tracking the reports about a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and first responders on the scene."
Minnesota’s Democratic Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar similarly thanked law enforcement and first responders but made no mention of an effort to push for gun control.
"It’s the first week of school," Smith said on X. "These kids should not be fearing for their lives."
However, Klobuchar later said during an interview with CNN that in other mass shootings, families, communities and the country have to "grapple with the fact that we have too many guns out there right now."
"We've done these things, but there's much bigger things we could do when it comes to background checks and assault weapons, and having more national standards in place, and being stricter about getting these guns out there," she said. "And if a bunch of kids praying in a church and shot down through the windows of that church and locked into that by a mad man, isn't enough to make people move, I just don't know what is."
Original article source: 'Weapons of war': Dem lawmakers call for gun control after Minneapolis school shooting
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