Biden tells residents of Maine city reeling from mass shooting: ‘You’re not alone’
President Joe Biden speaks at Just-In-Time Recreation Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, about the mass shooting last week.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the sites of last week's mass shooting, to lay a bouquet of flowers Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine.
President Joe Biden arrives on Air Force One at Brunswick Executive Airport in Brunswick, Maine, as he heads to Lewiston, Maine, to meet with family members and first responders after a mass shooting, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.
A make-shift memorial lines Main Street, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. President Joe Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden lay flowers at Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the sites of last week's mass shooting, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine.
A community member looks at a memorial outside Schemengees Bar & Grille, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. President Joe Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
A make-shift memorial of flags lines Main Street, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. President Joe Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
A make-shift memorial sits outside Schemengees Bar & Grille, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. President Joe Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
Law enforcement gather outside Sparetime Bowling, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine prior to the arrival of President Joe Biden. Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history. The bowling alley was recently renamed Just-In-Time Recreation.
President Joe Biden walks with Col. Angela Ochoa commander of the 89th Airlift Wing Division, to board Air Force One for a trip to Lewiston, Maine, to visit people affected by the mass shooting, Friday, Nov. 2, 2023, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
President Joe Biden hugs Kathy Lebel, co-owner of Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the sites of last week's mass shooting, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine.
President Joe Biden speaks at Just-In-Time Recreation Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, about the mass shooting last week.
Community members look at a memorial outside Schemengees Bar & Grille, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Lewiston, Maine. President Joe Biden is heading to Lewiston to mourn with the community after 18 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in state history.
President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden, greets people after arrival Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine.
President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden, listens to Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline outside of Just-In-Time Recreation before he speaks Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine, about the mass shooting last week.
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) 鈥� President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stood for a moment of silence and placed a bouquet of white flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, one of the scenes of the state蘑菇视频 deadliest mass shooting.
Biden then bent to hug Kathy Lebel, owner of the bar where eight people died in the Oct. 25 massacre. Seven more died at the nearby Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, three others at hospitals.
Biden came to Lewiston on Friday for what presidents do in these moments of horror and grief: lend comfort to the families of the victims and show support for a reeling community. It蘑菇视频 a trip that has become all too familiar, despite a bipartisan gun safety law passed last year after another mass shooting, and despite a series of executive orders by the president meant to curb gun violence.
鈥淛ill and I have done too many of these,鈥� Biden said outside the bowling alley, standing in front of police officers, EMTs and others who responded to the shootings. 鈥淛ill and I are here, though on behalf of the American people to make sure you know that you鈥檙e not alone.鈥�
Besides those killed, 13 people were injured in the shootings. Gunman Robert Card, a 40-year-old firearms instructor, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the killings, following a dayslong search.
Authorities said this week that Card蘑菇视频 family had brought their concerns about his deteriorating mental health to the local sheriff five months before the deadly rampage. He had also undergone a mental health evaluation after he began behaving erratically at a training facility last summer.
Signs hung around the town Friday read 鈥淔ix the mental health system鈥� and simply 鈥淏e nice.鈥� Inside the town蘑菇视频 elementary school, there were notes on the hallways made by students that read: 鈥淟ewiston strong鈥� and 鈥淵ou ARE safe.鈥�
The Democratic president has said he蘑菇视频 determined to fight gun violence in the U.S. and it蘑菇视频 a large part of his reelection campaign platform. He created the first White House office of gun violence prevention, which is charged with finding solutions and fully implementing landmark gun safety legislation enacted last year. One of the leaders of the office was in Maine this week helping coordinate the federal response. Biden has also pushed for a ban on assault weapons.
鈥淭his is about common sense,鈥� he said Friday. 鈥淩easonable, 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, a restaurant, a school, church, without being shot and killed.鈥�
The president has visited many other communities scarred by mass shootings. He蘑菇视频 been to Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Monterey Park, California, just in roughly the past year.
鈥淎s we mourn today in Maine, this tragedy opens a painful wound, all across the country,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淭oo many Americans have lost loved ones or survived the trauma of gun violence.鈥�
As of Friday, there have been at least 37 mass killings in the U.S. in 2023, leaving at least 195 people dead, not including shooters who died, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
Members of the community visited the memorial outside Schemengees to grieve throughout the morning. Biden蘑菇视频 arrival may help the city, but it蘑菇视频 terrible that it had to happen, said John Murphy, of New Gloucester, who went to the memorial to pay his respects. 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry that he had to on this occasion.鈥�
It will take years for the community to heal, said Murphy, who is 70.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 going to be a long time. Maine is a beautiful state. A very peaceful state,鈥� he said.
There were also memorials paying tribute to victims outside Just-In-Time, the bowling alley where the shootings began. The sign outside read: 鈥淟ewiston Strong! Remembering our loss Oct. 25 2023.鈥�
Michele Stapleton of Brunswick said she was glad the president came to Maine.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 very encouraging to have a president who wants to speak about gun safety. For too long, politicians have maybe felt that way, but they were maybe afraid to say it,鈥� she said.
In fact, the shootings have many residents searching for answers.
Elizabeth Seal, who lost her husband Josh, said in an interview this week that she was frustrated to learn that semi-automatic weapons were used.
鈥淚n general, I have no issue with the use of guns,鈥� she said through a sign language interpreter. 鈥淪ome people feel more comfortable having a gun for protection or for some it蘑菇视频 a hunting tradition. But why do we have semi-automatic weapons available that people can get? That can cause such severe devastation?鈥�
鈥淚 hope that our lawmakers will do something to change that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see this problem in other countries, right? This is an American issue.鈥�
Overall, stricter gun laws are desired by a majority of Americans, regardless of what the current gun laws are in their state, according to an AP/NORC poll. That desire could be tied to perceptions that fewer guns would mean fewer mass shootings.
Lewiston city administrator Heather Hunter, who was present when Biden spoke, said she appreciated that the president focused on the right to be safe.
鈥淚 agree, safety is one of those rights that everybody should enjoy. We have to make sure everyone in our community understands that,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is the first set toward working to acknowledge that and to achieve that goal.鈥�
Biden was notified of the shootings as he hosted a White House state dinner honoring Australia last week. He stepped out of the event to speak by telephone with Maine Gov. Janet Mills and the state蘑菇视频 representatives in Congress. On Friday, both Mills and Lewiston mayor Carl Sheline said the community was working to heal.
鈥淲e are resilient, strong and used to putting our shoulder to the wheel, Sheline said. 鈥淏ut nothing can prepare a community for the grief and sorrow of losing 18 souls to horrific violence.鈥�
Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.