HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Vice President Kamala Harris made an unscheduled visit to a northern Chicago suburb Tuesday evening a day after a mass shooting ravaged the town.
Harris traveled to Highland Park just after authorities announced first-degree murder charges against Robert Crimo III, who was accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more during a Fourth of July parade.
After arriving, the vice president spoke with Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering and shook hands with law enforcement officials, thanking them for their work.
Rotering invited Harris to join her in the town during a call Tuesday morning. Harris was also slated to meet with Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, and state Sen. Julie Morrison.
The visit comes shortly after Harris delivered remarks at the National Education Association’s annual meeting, where she addressed the Highland Park tragedy.
“We have more to do,” she said, calling on Congress to ban assault weapons. “An assault weapon is designed to kill a lot of human beings quickly. There is no reason that we have weapons of war on the streets of America. We need reasonable gun safety laws.”
President Joe Biden last week signed into law landmark bipartisan gun legislation, but said more action was needed.
“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up, but this is a monumental day,” Biden said at the time.
Sally Bronston contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com