The President and first lady will make a trip to Lewiston, Maine, on Friday to show respect to the 18 people who lost their lives last week when a gunman opened fire in a bowling alley and restaurant.
President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are expected to visit with the victims who were injured and the families of those who lost their lives during the shooting, as well as first responders, the White House shared.
Robert Card, the gunman who opened fire on the innocent on Oct. 25, left law enforcement agencies searching the state for him after he disappeared following the shooting, but he was found dead two days later.
The mass shooting was the deadliest to hit the country this year and the deadliest since the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
So far, the Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been 587 mass shootings this year, a shooting in which four or more people are shot, not including the gunman.
The shooting has highlighted the growing concern for gun safety and a call among lawmakers and activists for stricter gun laws.
A Gallup poll taken before the mass shooting found that a majority of Americans (56%) already want stricter gun laws.
Biden shared a statement the day after the Lewiston shooting, saying that a ban on assault weapons was needed to curb gun violence.
“For countless Americans who have survived gun violence and been traumatized by it, a shooting such as this reopens deep and painful wounds. Far too many Americans have now had a family member killed or injured as a result of gun violence. That is not normal, and we cannot accept it,” Biden said.