President Biden Decries Gun Violence After Grim Holiday Weekend

Independence Day celebrations were marred this year by violent crime.

Jill and I were honored to celebrate this Independence Day with our military families who represent a link in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days. (Credit: President Joe Biden, Twitter)

“Over the last few days, our nation has once again endured a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America — from Philadelphia to Fort Worth, Baltimore to Lansing, Wichita to Chicago,” President Joe Biden said in an Independence Day address from the White House on July 4, 2023. “Today, Jill and I grieve for those who have lost their lives and, as our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray for the day when our communities will be free from gun violence.”

The headlines across the country over the long holiday weekend reflected the source of President Biden’s distress.

“Five people killed, two children injured in Kingsessing mass shooting; suspect in custody,” reported Robert Moran and Rodrigo Torrejon for the Philadelphia Inquirer on July 4, 2023. “Police apprehended a 40-year old man allegedly wearing a ballistic vest and recovered an ‘AR-style’ rifle and handgun, extra magazines of ammunition, and a police scanner.”

In nearby Baltimore, it was “Outreach teams head for Brooklyn Homes to ‘continue this loving process’ as pain from Baltimore mass shooting lingers,” as reported by the Baltimore Sun.