Kamala Harris visits Highland Park shooting site to call for federal assault weapon ban

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Highland Park in Illinois on Tuesday and called for federal action on assault weapons in the country.

“We’ve got to be smarter as a country in terms of who has access to what, in particular assault weapons,” she said while offering condolences to the victims of the previous day’s mass shooting in the Chicago suburb.

At least seven people were killed and dozens injured after a gunman on a rooftop opened fire during the 4 July parade in Highland Park – about 25 miles north of downtown Chicago – sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers, and children on bicycle fleeing in terror.

“We’ve got to take this stuff seriously,” the vice president said, referring to the mass shooting. “The whole nation should understand and have a level of empathy to understand that this could happen anywhere in any peace-loving community. And we should stand together and speak out about why it’s got to stop.”

Earlier in the day, she had called for reinstituting a national assault weapon ban.

“We have more to do. Congress needs to have the courage to act and renew the assault weapons ban. We need reasonable gun safety laws. And we need to have Congress stop protecting those gun manufacturers with the liability shield. Repeal it. Repeal it.”

Ms Harris also offered condolences from president Joe Biden during her address. “You know that you have a whole nation that cares deeply about you and stands with you. This is an incredibly tight community. I know that,” Ms Harris said.

“And this person will be brought to justice, but it’s not going to undo what happened. And we’re here for you and we stand with you,” she added, referring to the suspected gunman Robert “Bobby” E Crimo III.

He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday, a day after he was charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. If convicted, he will face life in prison without the possibility of parole, said Illinois state attorney Eric Reinhart. The prosecutors will ask a judge to deny bail.

Meanwhile, his parents released a statement through their attorney: “We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody.”