After police said an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday and killed at least 19 children and two adults, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut gave an emotional speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate where he demanded that Congress act, and implored Americans to do the same.
“What are we doing?” Sen. Murphy said. ”Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands.”
The Democrat senator represented Newtown as a U.S. congressman.
“I just don’t understand why people here think we’re powerless,” Murphy later told reporters. “We aren’t,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Uvalde, Texas is about 85 miles west of San Antonio. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the suspect, a resident of Uvalde, is also now dead and was likely killed by police officers who were responding to the scene of the shooting.
