US President Joe Biden urged "common sense" reforms to America's gun laws on Friday as he visited Lewiston, Maine where a gunman killed 18 people and injured over a dozen more.
"You know, I've been at this a long time. I know consensus is ultimately possible. This is about common sense, reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, our communities because regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, restaurant, school. church without being shot and killed," he said.
Biden delivered the remarks after meeting with the town's first responders, nurses and others who responded to the horrific Oct. 25 shooting spree at a local bowling alley, and later at an area bar.
Police identified the suspect as Robert Card, 40, whose body was identified two days later near a recycling facility outside Lewiston.
Police said Card opened fire with a high-powered sniper rifle killing 18 and wounding 13 others, before fleeing. Hundreds of local, state and federal law enforcement officials began an intensive manhunt that left the small community of 37,000 in fear and under a shelter-in-place order for almost 48 hours.
The mass shooting was the 567th in the US in 2023, and the deadliest this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive - an online registry of violent gun occurrences.
