Biden calls for US to 'address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America' after Buffalo mass shooting

A horrific mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, carried about by an 18-year-old over the weekend specifically to kill black Americans at a Tops grocery store, President Biden spoke to the nation to decry gun violence and call for people to "work together to address the hate that remains a stain on America."

"I wanted to say a word about yesterday's mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. A lone gunman," he said, "armed with weapons of war and a hate-filled soul, shot and killed ten people in cold blood at a grocery store on Saturday afternoon. Jill and I, like all of you, are praying for the victims and their families, and a devastated community," Biden said, speaking at an event to honor those in law enforcement who were killed in the line of duty in 2021.

"I've been receiving updates from my team in the White House, that's in close contact with the Justice Department. We're still gathering the facts. Already, the Justice Department has stated publicly that is investigating the matter, as a hate crime, racially motivated act of white supremacy and violent extremism.

"As they do, we must all work together to address the hate remains a stain on the soul of America. Hearts are heavy once again, but our resolve must never ever waver. No one understands us more than the people sitting in front of me. Moms, dads, children, family members, about how those folks in Buffalo feel today, when they got the call.

"They were pulled into, it's as if you got pulled into a black hole in your chest. There's no way out, Jill and I know. We know no memorial, no gestures can fill the void in the hearts they have now or that you, you who've lost someone feels as well."

The shooting will elicit a visit from President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill to the area on Tuesday, as Biden's Twitter account announced on Sunday.

Biden's Twitter also noted that he and Jill have offered their prayers to the victims and the community.

Unelected New York Governor Kathy Hochul invited the President, saying on Sunday that the state "will welcome him any time." She said that she spoke with Biden about the shooting.

"I appreciate his outreach & the opportunity to tell him about my hometown's strong, resilient and fighting spirit," she went on, saying of Buffalo "we are the City of Good Neighbors."

Hochul visited Buffalo in the hours after the shooting, standing with local leaders.

After the shooting, it was revealed that the killer was known to law enforcement. The shooter had threatened to shoot up his high school, and was brought in for a mental health evaluation.

A former Buffalo police officer was killed in the shooting. He died while trying to save others.

The massacre in Buffalo was not the only mass shooting in America this weekend. One was killed and four injured in a shooting at a church in California, while a shooting in Houston took two lives. A 16-year-old boy in Chicago was shot and killed at Millennium Park, while many others were injured. In Milwaukee, a string of shootings on Friday caused that city to enact a curfew in an effort to curb the violence.

The Buffalo shooting was an ideologically motivated crime, by a shooter who claimed in a detailed and lengthy manifesto to be inspired to murder by feelings of antisemitism and racism.