Nineteen children and two teachers were killed and several other children were shot and injured in a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
It was the second-deadliest school shooting recorded in U.S. history after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and it was the deadliest school shooting since the 2018 attack that killed 17 in Parkland, Fla. It was the 27th school shooting in 2022, according to Education Week, which tracks them.
Some Pennsylvania Democrats called for action to prevent future school shootings, including urging Republican senators to vote for the background-check bill passed in 2021 by the U.S. House, known as H.R. 8. Some Pennsylvania Republicans called it heartbreaking or devastating but made no calls for action in their tweets, with the exception of Bucks County’s Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who has supported anti-violence legislation and called for a solution Wednesday.
Of Pennsylvania’s 18 U.S. House members, Democrat Conor Lamb and Republicans Lloyd Smucker, Guy Reschenthaler, and Glenn Thompson did not appear to have made public statements or tweeted by Wednesday evening. Their offices had not responded to requests for comment.
More children have been lost to gun violence – and it’s horrifying whether it happens in Texas, Philadelphia or anywhere in America.
The Senate has 2 House-passed gun reform bills that could save lives. The Senate has a duty to ACT! https://t.co/ADoF5Ci4yS https://t.co/dPXzX6viLY— Congressman Dwight Evans (@RepDwightEvans) May 24, 2022
1/ The victims and families in Buffalo are in my prayers & thoughts.
But thoughts & prayers are NOT enough to disarm hate, so the House has
passed 2 gun-safety bills that would save lives. The Senate should end
or make an exception to the #FatalFilibuster and pass these bills! https://t.co/zO1DNfg8NC pic.twitter.com/eQB2NTfOOr— Congressman Dwight Evans (@RepDwightEvans) May 15, 2022