WASHINGTON (WFLA) — Reactions were swift in Washington on Friday after a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indiana left several people dead and several others injured.
“There is no question that this violence must end,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.
The shooting in Indianapolis comes just a week after the White House issued executive orders on gun control to curb gun violence across the country. Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter Jaime in the Parkland school shooting three years ago, was in the Rose Garden that day for the announcement.
“It left me feeling like we can do this,” Guttenberg said. “I broke down and cried like a baby on the Rose Garden lawn.”
While Guttenberg believes President Joe Biden’s move is a step in the right direction, he says Congress needs to make a more permanent fix.
“It boggles my mind that convincing people elected to serve that they should have a hard time figuring out why it’s important to save lives,” he said. “It just blows my mind.”
A memorial was set up on the National Mall to remember the victims of gun violence and encourage lawmakers to act on comprehensive gun reform measures.
Sen. Mark Warner says 14 years since the shooting at Virginia Tech, there has been little movement on the issue.
“I don’t understand why we can’t come to at least a common agreement on something like universal background checks,” the Virginia Democrat said.
Republicans, like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, say potential solutions need to protect rights and be effective.
“Look, I think everyone is horrified any time innocent people are killed by gun violence and I think the answer to this problem has to be things that work,” Rubio said.
House-passed gun measures are currently awaiting action in the Senate.