YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARTSAKHPRESS. United States President Joe Biden on Sunday called once again for Congress to tighten gun controls in the wake of the Texas mall shooting.
He said the attacker, using an AR-15 style assault weapon, gunned down innocents in “the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation”.
“Such an attack is too shocking to be so familiar,” Biden tweeted, calling on Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and require universal background checks.
President Biden on Sunday ordered US flags be flown at half-mast at federal buildings, military posts and American embassies until sunset on Thursday as he made his plea for tighter gun controls.
Republicans in Congress are unlikely to back such a call, and gun ownership with few restrictions enjoys widespread support in Texas itself.
Most adults aged 21 or over in Texas are allowed to carry a handgun without a licence, unless they have a previous conviction, according to BBC. In addition, there are few restrictions on possession of rifles and shotguns. Republicans control the Texas state legislature.
In the US so far this year there have been at least 202 mass shootings in which four or more people were killed or wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
A gunman shot and killed eight people, including children, at a shopping mall north of Dallas on Saturday.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from the Allen Premium Outlets mall as eyewitnesses described a man firing indiscriminately at passers-by.
A police officer on an unrelated call killed the gunman after hearing shots.
