President Joe Biden, following a mass shooting in San Jose, California, on Wednesday , said that "every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more.
"Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America," he said.
Earlier, White House deputy press secretary Karine Jeane-Pierre said the administration was monitoring the situation in San Jose after an employee opened fire at a rail yard, killing eight people before ending his own life.
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A man cries while sitting on the sidewalk on North First Street near the scene of a shooting at the Valley Transportation Authority’s light-rail facility in San Jose, California, on May 26, 2021.
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Law enforcement officers are seen at the Valley Transportation Authority’s light rail yard after a mass shooting at the facility in San Jose, California, on May 26, 2021.
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VTA workers cross West Hedding Street near the scene of a shooting in San Jose, California, on May 26, 2021.
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Tactical law enforcement officers move through the Valley Transportation Authority light-rail yard where a mass shooting occurred on May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
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Two people hug on Younger Avenue outside the scene of a shooting in San Jose, California, on May, 26. 2021.
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Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department deploy a robot at the parking lot of the VTA Light Rail Facility, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
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FBI agents approach a home, rear, being investigated in connection to a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority facility on May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
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Law enforcement officers respond to the scene of a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California. Santa Clara County sheriff’s spokesman said the rail yard shooting left multiple people, including the shooter, dead.
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A man comforts a woman near the scene of a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
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Emergency personnel respond to a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
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Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) workers gather near a rail yard following a shooting on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Law enforcement officers respond to the scene of a shooting at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) facility on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in San Jose, California.
She reiterated Biden’s call for Congress to pass gun control measures.
“What’s clear, as the President has said, is that we are suffering from an epidemic of gun violence in this country, both in mass shootings and in the lives that are being taken in daily gun violence that doesn’t make national headlines,” she said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, a Bay Area native, calls the VTA yard shooting "absolutely tragic."
Vice President Kamala Harris called the shootings "absolutely tragic."
"I have family that live in San Jose...," she said. "And my prayers and my thoughts aree with all of those families that have been affected."