Biden letter addresses 2 years since Buffalo mass shooting

A letter from President Joe Biden will be read Tuesday at a ceremony marking the second anniversary of the mass shooting at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo that left 10 people dead and three others injured.

The letter will be read by Greg Jackson, deputy director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention at the White House.

“When I spoke to your community in the days following this horrific shooting, I came to deliver a message: that our entire nation grieved with you, that we would continue to oppose violence inflicted in service of hatred and that we would redouble our efforts. our efforts to prevent tragedies like this from happening again,” the letter reads. “Two years later, we still share the grief of our community. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ending all forms of racial hatred. And we are still working tirelessly to end the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued our country for too long. »

Biden’s letter mentions the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was passed shortly after the 2022 shooting. The Office of Gun Violence Prevention was created last year.

“I know we still have much work to do, but I am optimistic that we can prevent future senseless acts of gun violence like the one that struck the soul of your community – and much of that is due to resilience which you demonstrate. shown in the face of this unthinkable anguish.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy and members of the 5/14 Memorial Commission unveiled renderings of a memorial to the public for the first time Monday.