President Biden Visits Lewiston, Maine, to Console Residents Following a Mass Tragedy

Home U.S. President Biden Visits Lewiston, Maine, to Console Residents Following a Mass Tragedy
President Biden Visits Lewiston, Maine

President Joe Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, paid a visit to Lewiston, Maine, a week after the state experienced its bloodiest mass massacre.

The Bidens observed a moment of quiet before placing a bouquet of white flowers outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, where 8 of the 18 victims of the Oct. 25 attack died. Seven more people were killed at the nearby Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, and three more died in hospitals.

Biden talked with the victims’ families and expressed sympathy for the beleaguered town. The president called his trip as “all too typical” in light of recent mass shootings occurring around the country.

Jill and I have done far too many of these, Biden remarked outside the bowling alley, surrounded by cops, EMTs, and other emergency personnel. Jill and I are here on behalf of the citizens of America to let you know that you are not forgotten.

The president has visited a number of additional areas that have been devastated by tragedies like these. In recent years, he has visited Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas, and Monterey Park, California.

Biden right away called on Congress to prohibit AR-15s and other so-called assault weapons following last week’s tragic massacre in Lewiston. During his speech in Lewiston on Friday, the Democratic president reiterated his commitment to combating gun violence in the United States.

He stated on Friday that this is a matter of common sense. Reasonable, appropriate safeguards for our children, families, and communities. Because, whatever our views, this is about ensuring that we can go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, a school, or a church without fear of being shot and killed.

 

As we mourn in Maine today, this tragedy has opened a terrible wound throughout the country, Biden concluded. Too many Americans have lost loved ones or endured the trauma of firearm violence.

“Lewiston Strong!” read a banner outside the Just-In-Time bowling facility, where the shooting began. On October 25, 2023, we will remember the loss we suffered.

Biden called Maine Gov. Janet Mills and the state’s congressional members soon after the shooting. Both Mills and Lewiston mayor Carl Sheline stated on Friday that the town was attempting to heal.

We are resilient, robust, and accustomed to putting our backs to the wheel, according to Sheline. Nothing, however, can prepare everyone for the anguish and sadness of losing 18 people to heinous violence.

A resident of Maine after Biden’s Visit

Michele Stapleton, a Brunswick resident living there, said she was delighted the president visited Maine.

It’s reassuring to have a president who cares about gun safety. Politicians may have felt this way for too long, but they were perhaps reluctant to say it, she said.

Following last week’s shooting, a large manhunt was launched for suspect Robert Card, a 40-year-old Army Reserve soldier and firearms trainer who was discovered dead two days later of an apparently self-induced gunshot wound.

According to a record kept by The Associated Press and USA Today in collaboration with Northeastern University, there were at least 37 murderous acts in the United States in 2023, murdering at least 195 individuals, not including gunmen who died.

Healthcare personnel who worked at CMMC on the night of the shooting and met with President Joe Biden on Friday described the night of October 25 as a “setup disaster.”

According to the chief of surgery, the hospital team performed together under extremely tough conditions.

According to CMMC Chief of Surgery Tim Counahan, “It was like this spontaneous event that individuals heard approximately and just began to show up.” After an hour, we have six individuals in surgery, and the rest are being treated in the ER; it’s incredible how all came through.

Also Read: Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, is a Long-Standing Custom in Mexico

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.