President Joe Biden, who is visiting Wilmington, North Carolina, on Thursday to talk about the economy, is heading to Charlotte to visit families. Law enforcement officers shot dead On the job — just a week after sitting down with grieving relatives of two policemen killed in upstate New York.
The visit is expected to take place behind closed doors with little fanfare, as the White House aims to respect the privacy of bereaved families and avoid the appearance of using their grief for political purposes. The meeting was expected to take place at the airport, an option meant to be least taxing for local law enforcement still grappling with the deaths but who would have a hand in securing the president’s visit.
Once again, Biden will try to be an empathetic leader to a community suffering from gun violence, while also calling for stricter regulations around firearms and better funding for law enforcement on the front lines.
Four officers were killed in North Carolina earlier this week when a wanted man opened fire on a joint agency task force attempting to arrest him on a warrant for gun possession as an ex-felon and evading capture. Came to run away. They were: Sam Poloche and William Elliott of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Joshua Ayer; and Deputy US Marshal Thomas Weeks.
Four other officers were injured in the shooting; The suspect was killed. An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a 40-caliber handgun and ammunition were found at the scene.
The AR-15 is one of the weapons most commonly used in mass shootings, and it’s the type of gun Biden is talking about when he says the US should ban “assault weapons.” Should be installed. Following a horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Congress passed the most comprehensive gun safety legislation in decades in 2022. But it didn’t go far enough, Biden often says.
President Joe Biden on April 25, 2024, at the Milton J. Rubenstein gives commentary on Chips and Science Act at the Museum. Biden met with families of slain law enforcement officers during his visit to Syracuse and is expected to do the same during a visit to Wilmington, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci, File)
And while campaigning for the 2024 election, Biden has made curbing gun violence a key campaign platform, something that was elusive for Democrats even during the Obama era as he avoided attacks from Republican challenger Donald Trump that He is soft on crime and anti-police.
Biden said in a statement this week after the North Carolina killings that the US “must do more to protect our law enforcement officers. That means funding them — so they have the resources to do their jobs and keep us safe.” Have the necessary resources.”
This violence happened just two weeks after another violence Fatal shooting of law enforcement officers in Syracuse, New York; Lieutenant Michael Husock and Officer Michael Jensen were killed while searching for a driver who fled a traffic stop. After his speech, Biden met with relatives of the families of both officials.
Charlotte police chief remembers 4 slain officers, says suspect had ‘extensive’ criminal history
Biden was already scheduled to come to Syracuse to celebrate Micron Technology’s plan to build a complex of computer chip factories, but the local police union said officers were still unconvinced by the deaths and were happy with the president’s visit. He was not there and they expected him to delay.
On Thursday, Biden will also travel to Wilmington, where he is announcing that his administration is providing an additional $3 billion to states to replace lead pipes nationwide, building on water infrastructure projects across the country announced in February. Is creating $5.8 billion in federal funds for.
The money to replace the pipes comes from one of the administration’s major legislative victories, the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed into law in 2021. The infrastructure legislation includes more than $50 billion to upgrade America’s water infrastructure.
“The time to get leadership on board once and for all is long gone,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said Wednesday. “This is a matter of public health, a matter of environmental justice, and a matter of basic human rights.”
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Biden and his administration are committed to using all tools available “to achieve a 100% lead-free future for all Americans,” Regan told reporters at a White House briefing. “Every day we move one step closer to a future where no child will have to suffer the lasting effects of lead exposure.”
The new round of funding will help pay for projects across the country as Biden looks to replace all lead pipes in the country.
EPA estimates that North Carolina There are 370,000 lead pipes in the U.S., and it would cost $76 million to replace them statewide. Biden will also meet with faculty and students at a Wilmington school, which replaced water fountains with high levels of lead with funding from the law.
