Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says they are “heartbroken” by those affected by the “horrific” shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 21 people Tuesday.
“Students, parents, teachers, the whole community have seen their lives changed forever by this unimaginable event,” Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver on Tuesday.
“All of Canada is mourning with our American friends on this terrible and terrible day.”
Authorities say an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults while going from classroom to classroom at Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde, a very Latin city about 135 miles west of San Diego. Antonio. The shooter was later killed by law enforcement.
“As a parent, I will have to go home with my children, including my eight-year-old son, and talk to them again about the unexplained school shooting we saw in the United States,” Trudeau said.
He mentioned that he himself was a teacher and that he is thinking about the trauma that students, parents and teachers have to suffer in Texas right now.
Reacting to the news of the attack, NPD leader Jagmeet Singh said on Tuesday on Twitter that his heart is broken as “so many”.
“Children deserve more than thoughts and prayers. They deserve protection and security. They deserve life,” he tweeted.
Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Security, called it “the kind of news that only slows us all down.”
Speaking to the press in Halifax on Wednesday, he told reporters that when such tragedies occur, he thinks about how important the “work we do as parliamentarians” is.
“I think of the young people who are here to represent and protect,” he said.
“The harsh reality of the matter is that there are no words that can do enough justice to the pain and anguish and devastation that families and this community are feeling this morning.”
Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Wednesday morning that his thoughts are with the families affected by the Texas tragedy.
“The arms trade – sordid in terms of smuggling – and the protection of very personal privileges should no longer be used as collateral for discouraging scenes,” he wrote in French on Twitter.
Tuesday’s assault marks the deadliest shooting at an American school since the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, which killed 20 children and six adults, and has revived calls for a greater arms control in this country.
The shooting also comes just 10 days after a gunman with gunfire killed 10 black shoppers and workers at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities have called a racist attack.
In statements from the White House on Tuesday, just hours after the shooting in Uvalde, US President Joe Biden called for new restrictions on firearms.
“I’m fed up and tired of that,” he said. “We have to act. And don’t tell me we can’t make an impact on this carnage.”
Although calls for greater gun control in the United States have resurfaced numerous times after the country suffered mass shootings after mass shootings, these campaigns have made little progress so far.
Following the latest mass shooting, Trudeau reiterated Canada’s efforts to control access to weapons.
“As a government in recent years, we have significantly increased the security of Canadians,” he said. “We have recently tightened further background check requirements for the purchase of firearms in Canada. Last year we banned military-style assault weapons, which are now illegal to purchase. sell or use anywhere in Canada. And we are committed to moving forward. doing even more. “
Mendicino added that Canadians need to remember that these tragedies can also happen and happen here.
“We still have a lot of work to do here in Canada,” he said. “We are not immune to the kind of armed violence that has sadly affected many communities here.”
- The CTV news channel will have special coverage of the tragedy in Texas presented by Merella Fernandez live from Uvalde at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, May 25th.
With files from The Associated Press