Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2021

April 16, 2021

Vice President Harris and I have been briefed by our homeland security team on the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, where a lone gunman murdered eight people and wounded several more in the dark of night.

Today's briefing is just the latest in a string of tragedies, following closely after gunmen firing bullets in broad daylight at spas in and around Atlanta, Georgia, a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, a home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and so many other shootings.

While we await critical details about the shooting, its motivation, and other key information, once again, I have the solemn duty of ordering the flag lowered at half-staff at the White House, public buildings and grounds, and military posts and Embassies, just 2 weeks after I gave the last such order.

It's a mass shooting just a week after we met, in the Rose Garden, with families who lost children and dear friends as bullets pierced their bodies and souls in schools, a night club, in a car at a gas station, and a town meeting at a grocery store. And it came just the night before 14th anniversary of the shooting at Virginia Tech, in which a gunman murdered 32 people.

Last night and into the morning in Indianapolis, yet again, families had to wait to hear word about the fate of their loved ones. What a cruel wait and fate that has become too normal and happens every day somewhere in our Nation. Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act.

Last week, I called on the Justice Department to better protect Americans from gun violence. I also urged Congress to hear the call of the American peopleâincluding the vast majority of gun ownersâto enact commonsense gun violence prevention legislation, like universal background checks and a ban of weapons of war and high-capacity magazines.

Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence. It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our Nation. We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives.

God bless the eight fellow Americans we lost in Indianapolis and their loved ones, and we pray for the wounded for their recovery.

NOTE: The statement referred to Brandon S. Hole, suspected gunman in the shooting at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Center on April 15; Matthew R. Alexander, Samaria Blackwell, Amarjeet Kaur Johal, Jasvinder Kaur, Amarjit Sekhon, Jaswinder Singh, Karli Smith, and John Weisert, who were killed in the shooting; Robert A. Long, suspected gunman in separate shootings at Young's Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, GA, and Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta, GA, on March 16; and Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, suspected gunman in the shooting at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, CO on March 22.

Categories: Statements by the President : Indianapolis, IN, shooting. Locations: Indianapolis, IN.

Names: Alexander, Matthew R.; Alissa, Ahmad Al Aliwi; Blackwell, Samaria; Harris, Kamala D.; Hole, Brandon S.; Johal, Amarjeet K.; Kaur, Jaswinder; Long, Robert A.; Sekhon, Amarjit; Singh, Jaswinder; Smith, Karli; Weisert, John.

Subjects: Colorado : Shooting in Boulder; Georgia : Shootings in Acworth and Atlanta; Indiana : Shooting in Indianapolis; Law enforcement and crime : Criminal background check procedures, strengthening efforts; Law enforcement and crime : Gun violence, prevention efforts; South Carolina : Shooting in Rock Hill; White House Office : Vice President.

DCPD Number: DCPD202100322.