Biden urges Congress for tougher gun laws after Sacramento shooting | Joe Biden

Joe Biden has again called on Congress to pass tougher gun laws in the wake of a mass shooting in Sacramento, California, on Sunday, as police continue to search for suspects in the case.

Six people were killed and 12 injured in the shooting in the city’s downtown area early on Sunday morning. The Sacramento police chief, Kathy Lester, told reporters in the evening authorities were searching for multiple suspects and had received a number of tips.

In a statement, Biden mourned those killed and lauded the response of law enforcement and emergency personnel.

“In a single act in Sacramento, six individuals left dead and at least a dozen more injured,” the statement said. “Families forever changed. Survivors left to heal wounds both visible and invisible.

“But we must do more than mourn; we must act.”

Biden called on Congress to pass meaningful gun reform legislation, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and a repeal on gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.

Congress has remained deadlocked on gun reform for years, on partisan lines.

The mass shooting occurred about 2am on the outskirts of Sacramento’s downtown entertainment district. Witness video showed multiple rounds of fire ringing out as people fled.

The shooting occurred after a fight broke out on a street lined with an upscale hotel, bars and nightclubs. Police said they did not know if the altercation was connected to the shooting,

Lester revealed few details from the investigation on Sunday and pleaded with the public to share videos and other evidence that could lead to the killers.

“The scale of violence that just happened in our city is unprecedented during my 27 years here,” Lester told reporters during a news conference at police headquarters.

“We are shocked and heartbroken by this tragedy. But we are also resolved as an agency to find those responsible and to secure justice for the victims and the families.“

The Sacramento mayor, Darrell Steinberg, and other city officials decried escalating violence in the city while urging people to keep coming to downtown for events like NBA games and performances of the Broadway musical Wicked.

“We can never accept it as normal and we never will,” Steinberg said of the shooting. “But we also have to live our lives.”

It was the third time in the US this year that at least six people have been killed in a mass shooting, according to a database compiled by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

It was also the second mass shooting in Sacramento in the last five weeks.