It’s Sick’: Biden Condemns Nashville Shooting Seconds After Addressing Kids At White House Event

President Joe Biden addressed the “heartbreaking” school shooting in Nashville seconds after interacting with kids attending a White House event.

On Monday morning, three children and three staff members were killed in a mass shooting at the Covenant School, an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee.

President Biden’s first public appearance following the shooting was at the Small Business Administration’s Women’s Business Summit in the East Room of the White House.

After brief remarks from SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and an introduction by Natalie King, CEO and Founder of Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, the president took to the lectern, and began by acknowledging the event, as well as some of the children in the audience.

After a lengthy joking exchange with the children of Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Biden segued to his remarks about the shooting, during which he urged Congress to act:

Well, I’m so glad to see you all, and thanks for coming with mom. Okay?

You got to take care of your mom. Dads are much harder to raise. But, you know, we’re — (laughter) —

Before I begin to speak, and the reason I spent a little time on the kids, I — I just want to speak very briefly about the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.

You know, Ben and I have been doing this our whole careers, it seems. And it’s just — it’s sick. You know, we’re still gathering the facts of what happened and why. And we do know that, as of now, there are a number of people who are not going to — did not make it, including children.

And it’s heartbreaking. A family’s worst nightmare.

And I want to commend the police who repo- — responded incredibly swiftly — within minutes — to end the danger.

We’re monitoring the situation really closely — Ben, as you know — and we have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation — ripping at the very soul of the nation. And we — we have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons.

You know, the shooter in this situation reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol — two AK-47. So I call on Congress, again, to pass my assault weapons ban. It’s about time that we begin to make some more progress.

But there’s more to learn. But I just wanted to send my concern and hearts out to so many parents out there. I’ve been to so many of these sites, as Ben knows, by — virtually every one.

And one of the things you folks should — I know you do know, but you should focus on — you know, just like when — in the military — when my son was in Iraq for a year, other places, you — there’s so many members of the military coming back with post-traumatic stress after witnessing the violence and participating in it.

Well, these children, these teachers, they should be — should be focusing on their mental health, as well.

And so I’m grateful — anyway, sorry to start off that way, but I couldn’t begin without acknowledging what happened. And now I’m grateful that all of you are joining us here today.