President Joe Biden delivered an impassioned plea to Congress to act on gun control Thursday night in an address to the nation, calling on lawmakers to restore limits on the sale of assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines after a string of mass shootings in the country.

Speaking at the White House, Biden sought to drive up pressure on Congress to pass stricter gun limits after such efforts failed following past attacks.

"How much more carnage are we willing to accept," Biden said after last week's shootings by an 18-year-old gunman, who killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and another attack on Wednesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a gunman shot and killed four people and himself at a medical office.

And those came after the May 14 assault in Buffalo, New York, where a white 18-year-old wearing military gear and livestreaming with a helmet camera opened fire with a rifle at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing 10 people and wounding three others in what authorities described as "racially motivated violent extremism."

All major broadcast networks broke away from regular programing to carry Biden's remarks at 7:30 p.m. EDT, before the start of primetime shows. The White House said the president would address "tragic mass shootings, and a need for Congress to pass commonsense laws to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is taking lives every day."

"He's going to renew his call for action to stop the epidemic of gun violence that we've seen in Uvalde and in Tulsa and in Buffalo in just a few short weeks," said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ahead of the speech. She said Biden did not plan to announce any new executive actions and that "tonight's speech is going to focus on what Congress needs to do."

"It'll be basically making sure that his voice is out there and calling to action and making sure that the American people know that he's still continuing to speak on their behalf," she said.

Biden has used national speeches in the past to speak about the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. But the president has used such addresses sparingly during his nearly 18 months in office, especially during evening hours

Earlier Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the Oklahoma shooting, saying, "All of us hold the people of Tulsa in our hearts, but we also reaffirm our commitment to passing commonsense gun safety laws."

"No more excuses. Thoughts and prayers are important, but not enough," Harris said. "We need Congress to act."

Before marking Memorial Day on Monday, Biden told reporters at the White House that there may be some bipartisan support to tighten restrictions on the kind of high-powered weapons used by the gunman in Uvalde. But he also noted that, while he had taken some steps via executive actions, he didn't have the power as president to "outlaw a weapon."

He also said that "things have gotten so bad that everybody's getting more rational, at least that's my hope," adding, "There's realization on the part of rational Republicans" who realize "we can't keep repeating ourselves."

Visiting Uvalde on Sunday, Biden mourned privately for three-plus hours with anguished families. Faced with chants of "do something" as he departed a church service, the president pledged: "We will."

His Thursday night address coincided with bipartisan talks that are intensifying among a core group of senators discussing modest gun policy changes. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said the group is "making rapid progress," and Biden has spoken to Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, among those leading their party's efforts on the issue.

Democrats are hoping Biden uses the remarks to encourage the bipartisan Senate talks and build pressure on the Republicans to strike an agreement. Jean-Pierre said Biden is "encouraged" by congressional negotiations but the president wants to give lawmakers "some space" to keep talking.

The private discussions in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, are not expected to produce the kinds of sweeping reforms being considered by the Democratic-led House — which has approved expansive background checks legislation and will next turn to an assault weapons ban.

But even a House package debated Thursday that is less sweeping but includes a provision raising the required age for buying semi-automatic firearms to 21, faces slim chances in the Senate.

Instead, the bipartisan senators are likely to come up with a more incremental package that would increase federal funding to support state gun safety efforts — with incentives for bolstering school security and mental health resources. The package may also encourage "red-flag laws" to keep firearms away from those who would do harm.

Jean-Pierre suggested Biden would use his speech to call for expanded background checks and red flag laws — as well as a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. She said he would focus on two audiences: congressional negotiators and also the general public.

Any major action is still a long shot. While the Senate approved a modest measure to encourage compliance with background checks after a 2017 church mass shooting in Texas and one in Parkland, Florida, the following year, no major legislation cleared the chamber following the devastating massacre of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

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Associated Press Writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.

Video above: Thousands rally in U.S. demanding action on gun laws

Senate negotiators in both parties are pushing to announce as soon as Sunday the outlines of an agreement on new measures to address gun violence, according to sources familiar with the talks.

The sources underscore that the agreement is in principle only and that thorny legislative text is not yet written.

Still, the agreement would be significant given how divided lawmakers have been over the gun issue, even in the wake of a series of devastating mass shootings, including one that killed 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

One source with knowledge of the discussions said negotiators are hoping to get 10 Republican senators to sign on to the agreement before it is announced, in order to show they can overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold. The Senate is currently evenly divided between the Democratic and GOP conferences with 50 seats each.

Sources involved in the talks said the agreement outline includes providing funding to incentivize states to implement "red flag" laws, an expansion of mental health services by growing a 10-state pilot program for behavioral health services to all 50 states, allowing juvenile records to be searched during background checks for those under 21 years of age, and funding for school security measures. It would also change the background check system to better crack down on criminals who evade that system by using smaller "hobbyists" to illegally buy guns.

The agreement is not expected to include a number of provisions pushed by President Joe Biden and gun control advocates, namely a renewal of the so-called assault weapons ban and raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

The four main Senate negotiators -- Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- have been in talks all weekend to hammer out the final details and have also been in discussions with a larger bipartisan group of negotiators.

The House voted 223-204 last week to pass a wide-ranging package of gun control legislation called the Protecting Our Kids Act. The measure is not expected to pass the Senate, however, amid widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun control.

Passage of the legislation in the House took place hours after an emotional hearing on gun violence in which families of victims pleaded for more action.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland on Sunday praised the Senate negotiators for their work on the legislation but stopped short of voicing his support for the forthcoming package.

"Well, we would certainly vote on it and work on it," he said on "State of the Union" when asked if would vote for the bill, adding: "It's moving in the right direction. We're glad the Senate is finally awake about this."

Berlina Arreola continues to visit an impromptu shrine of a tragedy that struck her family personally.

A gunman shot and killed her granddaughter, Amerie Jo Garza, 18 other Robb Elementary School students, and two teachers on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas.

"It's getting harder and harder as the days go by missing our loved ones," Arreola said. "I mean, I miss Amerie dearly."

The road ahead is still tough for families.

Jessie Rodriguez's daughter, Annabell, was another victim.

"The last time I talked to her, I was waiting for a big job to come in so I could pick her up and go shopping, you know," Rodriguez said. "She took my phone and said, 'Let's do a selfie daddy.'"

Rodriguez, who is self-employed, finds it hard to motivate himself to get back to work.

"It kills me every day, you know?" Rodriguez said. "I mean, I'm not the man I was, just not the same."

Victims' families have needs, whether they be emotional, medical, or financial.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez says strangers have opened their pocketbooks to Uvalde, donating nearly $14 million to date.

"We saw already there are initial efforts, but we want to be able to get an idea of when families are going to get disbursements," Sen. Gutierrez said. "I'm bringing in some folks that are going to advocate for them to maximize those funds as best we can."

He said he's learned lessons from past relief efforts after mass shootings, like the Sutherland Springs church attack in 2017.

"I hope that we can get these organizations, these funds, that have been collected, people that are running these organizations, to understand that we need to be able to do at least try to change the lives of these parents," Sen. Gutierrez said.

The tragedy struck an already vulnerable community. Census data says close to 25% of people in the county are uninsured. Much live pay check to pay check, and paying for medical bills for survivors is simply a bridge too far. That's where these funds fit in.

"In 2012 after the Aurora theater shooting, survivors of that event came to us at the National Center for Victims of Crime and said that they didn't like how their fund was being administered, and they asked us to set up a new fund for them," Jeff Dion, executive director of the National Compassion Fund, said.

The National Compassion Fund, or NCF, is a group founded after a gunman murdered 12 and injured 70 in the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting almost 10 years ago.

One of those victims was Micayla Medek. When donations did not reach families in need, her cousin was moved to action.

"The first $200,000 went to 10 area nonprofits, and we found out that they were a victim relief fund; [it] was not actually going to go directly to the victims," Anita Busch with Victims First said. "We had kids with brain injuries and no insurance, and we have 12 people to bury."

Busch works alongside the NCF. The foundation says its role is to make sure victims and survivors get direct assistance from every dollar donated.

"But nobody really is planning for donation management, and we know that this happens just about every time," Dion said.

The foundation has overseen collection efforts for 23 mass casualty events and helped disburse more than $100 million.

"So we had to get up off our knees in grief and fight so that the donations would actually get to the victims," Busch said.

These echos the sentiment Arreola has — that there is no price tag on bringing back loved ones.

"The bills don't stop... for a broken, unfortunately," Arreola said.

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A man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at officers in Washington, D.C.

U.S Capitol Police said they were alerted to the man Wednesday afternoon. The officers said the suspect was trying to light the Molotov cocktail when he threw it at them and tried to get away. However, the officers managed to stop him.

“Both of our officers were treated for minor injuries. Thankfully they are going to be OK,” said acting Assistant Chief of Police for Uniformed Operations Sean Gallagher.

The man also had an explosive device made with a tequila bottle and a petroleum-based accelerant, police said.

It's unclear what the man was planning to do with the Molotov cocktails, but police said there's no indication he was targeting the U.S. Capitol or members of Congress.

He's facing charges of assault on a police officer, possession of a Molotov cocktail and assault with a deadly weapon.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — The Walmart supervisor who fatally shot six co-workers at a store in Virginia bought the gun just hours before the killings and left a note on his phone accusing colleagues of mocking him, authorities said Friday.

“Sorry everyone but I did not plan this I promise things just fell in place like I was led by the Satan,” Andre Bing wrote on a note that was left on his phone, the Chesapeake Police Department said Friday.

Police said the 9 mm handgun used in the Tuesday night shooting was legally purchased that morning and that Bing had no criminal record. They released a copy of the note found on his phone that appeared to redact the names of specific people he mentioned.

It was not clear when the note was written, but in it Bing claimed he was harassed and said he was pushed to the brink by a perception his phone was hacked.

He wrote, “My only wish would have been to start over from scratch and that my parents would have paid closer attention to my social deficits.” Bing died at the scene of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Coworkers of Bing who survived the shooting said he was difficult and known for being hostile with employees. One survivor said Bing seemed to target people and fired at some victims after they were already hit.

Jessica Wilczewski said workers were gathered in a store break room to begin their overnight shift late Tuesday when Bing, a team leader, entered and opened fire. While another witness has described Bing as shooting wildly, Wilczewski said she observed him target certain people.

“The way he was acting — he was going hunting," Wilczewski told The Associated Press on Thursday. "The way he was looking at people’s faces and the way he did what he did, he was picking people out.”

She said she observed him shoot at people who were already on the ground.

“What I do know is that he made sure who he wanted dead, was dead,” she said. “He went back and shot dead bodies that were already dead. To make sure.”

Wilczewski said she had only worked at the store for five days and didn't know with whom Bing got along or had problems. She said being a new employee may have been the reason she was spared.

She said that after the shooting started, a co-worker sitting next to her pulled her under the table to hide. She said that at one point, Bing told her to get out from under the table. But when he saw who she was, he told her, “Jessie, go home.” She said she slowly got up and then ran out of the store.

Former coworkers and residents of Chesapeake, a city of about 250,000 people near Virginia's coast, have been struggling to make sense of the rampage.

Bing's death note rambles at times through 11 paragraphs, with references to nontraditional cancer treatments and songwriting. He says people unfairly compared him to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and wrote: “I would have never killed anyone who entered my home.”

And he longs for a wife but says he didn't deserve one.

Some who worked with Bing, 31, said he had a reputation for being an aggressive, if not hostile, supervisor who once admitted to having “anger issues.” But he also could make people laugh and seemed to be dealing with the typical stresses at work that many people endure.

“I don’t think he had many people to fall back on in his personal life,” said Nathan Sinclair, who worked at the Walmart for nearly a year before leaving earlier this month.

During chats among coworkers, “We would be like ‘work is consuming my life.’ And (Bing) would be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have a social life anyway,’” Sinclair recalled Thursday.

Sinclair said he and Bing did not get along. Bing was known for being “verbally hostile” to employees and wasn’t particularly well-liked. But Sinclair also said there were times when Bing was made fun of and not necessarily treated fairly.

Police have identified the victims as Brian Pendleton, 38; Kellie Pyle, 52; Lorenzo Gamble, 43; Randy Blevins, 70, and Fernando Chavez-Barron, 16, who were all from Chesapeake; and Tyneka Johnson, 22, of nearby Portsmouth. Chavez-Barron's name was released Friday; it had been withheld previously because of his age.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed in an email that all of the victims worked for the company.

Two others who were shot remained hospitalized, police said Friday. One is still in critical condition, and the other is in fair to improving condition.

Another Walmart employee, Briana Tyler, has said Bing appeared to fire at random.

“He was just shooting all throughout the room. It didn’t matter who he hit,” Tyler told the AP Wednesday.

Six people also were wounded in the shooting, which happened just after 10 p.m. as shoppers were stocking up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Police said they believe about 50 people were in the store at the time.

Bing was identified as an overnight team leader who had been a Walmart employee since 2010. Police said he had one handgun and several magazines of ammunition.

Tyler said the overnight stocking team of 15 to 20 people had just gathered in the break room to go over the morning plan. Another team leader had begun speaking when Bing entered the room and opened fire, Tyler and Wiczewski said.

Tyler, who started working at Walmart two months ago and had worked with Bing just a night earlier, said she never had a negative encounter with him, but others told her he was “the manager to look out for.” She said Bing had a history of writing up people for no reason.

The attack was the second major shooting in Virginia this month. Three University of Virginia football players were fatally shot on a bus Nov. 13 as they returned from a field trip. Two other students were wounded.

The Walmart shooting also comes days after a person opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado — killing five and wounding 17. Tuesday night’s shooting brought back memories of another attack at a Walmart in 2019, when a gunman killed 23 at a store in El Paso, Texas.

Also on Friday, a person suffered injuries not considered life-threatening after being shot at a Walmart in Lumberton, North Carolina, police said. Investigators described it as an isolated altercation between two people who knew each other.

Wilczewski, who survived Tuesday's shooting in Virginia, said she tried but could not bring herself to visit a memorial in the store's parking lot Wednesday.

“I wrote a letter and I wanted to put it out there,” she said. “I wrote to the ones I watched die. And I said that I'm sorry I wasn't louder. I'm sorry you couldn't feel my touch. But you weren't alone.”

A New England Patriots player was arrested Friday evening at a security checkpoint at Boston’s Logan Airport after two guns were found inside carry-on luggage, Massachusetts State Police said.

Police said 25-year-old Jackie K. Jones of Arizona was arrested Friday evening, WCVB-TV reported. He had been planning to travel from Boston to Arizona, according to police.

Police were called to the Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint in Terminal B at about 5:30 p.m. after two firearms were found in a traveler’s carry-on luggage. Police said they identified the person as Jones and arrested him.

Jones is facing charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a large-capacity feeding device and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, police said. He was booked at the State Police Logan Airport Barracks and had bail set at $50,000, police said.

It wasn’t immediately known if Jones has a lawyer to comment on his behalf. He is scheduled to be arraigned in East Boston District Court next week, according to police.

The Patriots confirmed the arrest in a statement.

“We have been notified that Jack Jones was arrested at Logan Airport earlier today,” the statement said. “We are in the process of gathering more information and will not be commenting further at this time.”

Jones is entering his second year as a cornerback for the Patriots. Patriots minicamp practice was held this week at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an east Jerusalem synagogue Friday night, killing seven people, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three others before he was shot and killed by police, officials said. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in years and raised the likelihood of more bloodshed.

The attack, which occurred as residents were observing the Jewish sabbath, came a day after an Israeli military raid killed nine people in the West Bank. The shooting set off celebrations in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where people fired guns into the air, honked horns and distributed sweets.

The burst of violence, which also included a rocket barrage from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes, has posed an early challenge for Israel’s new government, which is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for a hard line against Palestinian violence. It also cast a cloud over a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the region Sunday.

Addressing reporters at Israel's national police headquarters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had held a security assessment and decided on “immediate actions.” He said he would convene his Security Cabinet on Saturday night, after the end of the sabbath, to discuss a further response.

Netanyahu declined to elaborate but said Israel would act with “determination and composure.” He called on the public not to take take the law into their own hands.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. strongly condemned the attack and was “shocked and saddend by the lose of life,” noting it came on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

″The United States will extend our full support to the government and people of Israel,” she said.

Israeli police said the shootings occurred in Neve Yaakov, a religious neighborhood in east Jerusalem with a large ultra Orthodox population, and that the gunman fled in a car after opening fire. Police said they chased after him and after an exchange of fire, killed him.

Jerusalem police chief Doron Turjeman confirmed seven deaths, in addition to the shooter, and said three people were wounded.

Police identified the attacker as a 21-year-old east Jerusalem resident who apparently acted alone. Turjeman promised an “aggressive and significant” effort to track down anyone who had helped him.

Police also released a photo of the pistol it said was used by the attacker.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant huddled with Israel's military chief and other top security officials and instructed them to assist police and strengthen defenses near Jerusalem and for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

"Israel’s defense establishment will operate decisively and forcefully against terror and will reach anyone involved in the attack,” Gallant said.

Israel's MADA rescue service said the dead included five men and two women, including several who were 60 or older. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital said a 15-year-old boy was recovering from surgery.

The bloodshed was the deadliest on Israelis since a 2008 shooting killed eight people in a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, according to the Foreign Ministry. Given the location and timing, it threatened to trigger a tough response from Israel.

Overnight Thursday, Gaza militants fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, with all of them either intercepted or landing in open areas. Israel responded with airstrikes on targets in Gaza. No casualties were reported and calm appeared to be taking hold before Friday night's shooting.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting. In Gaza, Hazem Qassem, spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group, said the attack was “a revenge and natural response” to the killing of nine Palestinians in Jenin on Thursday.

At several locations across the Gaza Strip, dozens of Palestinians gathered in spontaneous demonstrations to celebrate the Jerusalem attack, with some coming out of dessert shops with large trays of sweets to distribute.

In downtown Gaza City, celebratory gunfire could be heard, as cars honked and calls of “God is great!” wafted from mosque loudspeakers. In various West Bank towns, Palestinians launched fireworks and honked horns in celebration.

The attack escalated tensions that were already heightened following Thursday's military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin, where nine people, including at least seven militants and a 61-year-old woman, were killed. It was the deadliest single raid in the West Bank in two decades. A 10th Palestinian was killed in separate fighting near Jerusalem.

Angry Palestinians had marched Friday as they buried the last of those killed a day earlier.

Scuffles between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters erupted after the funeral for a 22-year-old Palestinian north of Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, but calm prevailed in the contested capital and in the blockaded Gaza Strip for most of the day.

But all that quickly dissolved with the east Jerusalem shooting, described as “horrific and heartbreaking” by Yair Lapid, the opposition leader and former prime minister.

Neve Yaakov is a religious Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be a neighborhood of its capital. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as a capital of their future state.

Blinken’s trip will probably now focus heavily on lowering tensions. He is likely to discuss the underlying causes of the conflict that continue to fester, the agenda of Israel’s new far-right government and the Palestinian Authority’s decision to halt security coordination with Israel in retaliation for the deadly raid.

The Biden administration has been deeply engaged with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in recent days, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, underscoring the “urgent need here for all parties to deescalate to prevent the further loss of civilian life and to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank.”

While residents of Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank were on edge, midday prayers Friday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, often a catalyst for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police, passed in relative calm.

Both the Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes seemed limited so as to prevent growing into a full-blown war. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several smaller skirmishes since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

Tensions have soared since Israel stepped up raids in the West Bank last spring, following a series of Palestinian attacks. Jenin, which was an important a militant stronghold during the 2000-2005 intifada and has again emerged as one, has been the focus of many of the Israeli operations.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest in those territories since 2004, according to leading Israeli rights group B’Tselem. Last year, 30 people were killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

So far this year, 30 Palestinians have been killed, according to a count by The Associated Press.

Israel says most of the dead were militants. But youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the confrontations also have been killed.

Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomat in the United Arab Emirates, warned that “the Israeli escalation in Jenin is dangerous and disturbing and undermines international efforts to advance the priority of the peace agenda.” The UAE recognized Israel in 2020 along with Bahrain, which has remained silent on the surge in violence.

In the West Bank, Fatah announced a general strike and most shops were closed in Palestinian cities. The PA said Thursday it would halt the ties that its security forces maintain with Israel in a shared effort to contain Islamic militants. Previous threats have been short-lived, in part because of the benefits the authority enjoys from the relationship, and also due to U.S. and Israeli pressure.

The PA has limited control over scattered enclaves in the West Bank, and almost none over militant strongholds like the Jenin camp.

Israel says its raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart attacks. The Palestinians say they further entrench Israel’s 55-year, open-ended occupation of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories to form any eventual state.

Israel has established dozens of settlements in the West Bank that house 500,000 people. The Palestinians and much of the international community view settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, even as talks to end the conflict have been moribund for over a decade.

Numerous schools in Colorado and Idaho were put on lockdown Wednesday after someone reported threats, which police believe were part of a hoax.

Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold told reporters Wednesday that dispatchers received a call in the morning from a male who said he was going to Boulder High School when the sound of gunshots could be heard in the background.

Boulder Police cleared the school, but there were no confirmed injuries.

Threat calls were also made to schools in Colorado, including in Aspen, Alamosa, Brighton and Canon City. In all the cases, the schools were cleared of any threat.

In Idaho, the Caldwell Police Department said there were a number of "non-legitimate" threats made at several schools Wednesday morning. Officers continue to respond, but they believe the threats are part of a wide-reaching hoax.

"In the past week, similar instances involving hoax calls into schools have occurred in Oregon, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada," the Caldwell Police Department said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Boulder Police Department said the FBI is now helping investigate the source of the calls.

The White House on Thursday spoke about taking action to reduce gun violence.

The Biden Administration is pushing for funding interventions like community policing, street outreach, hospital-based intervention and youth programs.

It's also working with law enforcement to stop the illegal flow of weapons from some southern states with weaker laws into states like New York, which has tougher gun laws.

"It's a pretty straightforward kind of approach, the same that we use for the opioid crisis," said Kris Brown, the president of Brady, an organization that advocates for reducing gun violence. "Look at any kind of situation: You have to look at the supply side and the demand side. For what's happening, this is choking off the supply. It's very, very basic, and it's what most Americans expect the enforcement agencies are doing. They're just falling down on the job."

Brady just released a database of ATF inspection reports of gun dealers.

The report says that most gun stores were lawfully selling weapons. However, shops cited with multiple violations rarely have their license revoked.

Those violations included improperly storing inventory or not training staff to spot illegal purchases or conduct proper background checks. The violations also included selling to people who have not cleared background checks.

Brady says the ATF also only inspects about 7% of the U.S.'s 130,000 gun dealers each year.

"Almost every time, it's just a slap on the wrist, which is pretty terrible, because by law, Congress has precluded the ATF from re-inspecting a gun dealer for one year," Brown said. "There are all kinds of limitations that the NRA has put through Congress on the ATF and doing its job."

Daniel Webster of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence has studied gun violence as a public health issue for 30 years. He says it's hard for law enforcement to stop gun sales on the black market.

"Once a gun is in underground markets, it's very difficult to do anything about it," Webster said. "It's easier to prevent that initial diversion into that underground market."

Webster says states that adopt their own regulations for gun dealers — and enforce them — see fewer sales that move into illegal involvement. He says it's the best initial diversion to keeping guns out of the underground market.

Making gun shops more vulnerable to legal consequences like lawsuits also decreases illegal or negligent practices. Webster sees the Brady ATF inspection database as an important tool to understanding the agency's limitations.

"It will create more pressure on that agency to not look the other way when you have gun dealers who are not complying with laws," Webster said.

Click here to search inspection reports of gun dealers in your area.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Across the country, many major American cities are reporting spikes in violence.

Nationwide, homicides are up more than 44% compared to where they were in 2019.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden will speak about the violence and provide some solutions to reduce the bloodshed.

RECORD HOMICIDES

The following cities set new records for homicides in 2021:

• Albuquerque
• Austin
• Colorado Springs
• Columbus
• Indianapolis
• Louisville
• Memphis
• Milwaukee
• Philadelphia
• Portland
• Tucson

In Tucson, there were 93 homicides in 2021. In 2020, the city reported 68 homicides.

In Milwaukee, there were 197 in 2021 compared to 190 the year before.

In Indianapolis, 271 homicides occurred in 2021. That's a rise from 215 in 2020.

Other major metropolitan areas like Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Denver and Cleveland didn't set records but they came close.

PRESIDENT SET TO SPEAK

Mayors and police chiefs all around the country have their own ideas as to what is needed to reduce violence. On Thursday, Biden will share ideas. Whether or not they will make a difference is still unclear.

The president will deliver his remarks from New York City, a city reeling from the deaths of two police officers who were killed in the line of duty last month.

Biden is expected to address efforts to provide more federal funding to hire more officers nationwide and improve community programs that are meant to prevent violence.

The president will also highlight ways for police to better engage suspects, especially those experiencing a mental health crisis.

Biden is also expected to talk about how well his newly-created “Strike Force” program is combating gun trafficking, which is the process of firearms being moved from one city to another.

GUN TRAFFICKING UPDATE

It's estimated 50,000 guns are moved around the U.S. each year through gun trafficking, usually from states where it's easier to buy a gun to places where it is tougher.

That's how many criminals around the country are getting their guns, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“We know that new guns are arriving by car, by bus and by train every day," Adams said during a recent speech on gun violence.

Biden's visit to New York is tacit approval of the city's new approach of utilizing more police on the street, which is the opposite of what the "Defund the Police" movement called for in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

Whatever specifics Biden lays out Thursday, the reality is that his power on the issue of guns is relatively limited. Efforts to pass comprehensive gun control and universal background checks in Congress remain stalled.

The White House laid out a plan Tuesday to prevent suicides by firearm.

“Before deciding whether to keep a firearm in their home, families should know that having access to a gun triples one’s risk of death by suicide,” the White House said in a statement.

One of the Biden administration’s actions focuses on preventing military and veteran suicides.

Federal agencies are being tasked with creating a public awareness campaign that promotes the safekeeping of a firearm.

In addition, the Biden administration says it will make it easier for gun owners to obtain secure gun storage or safety devices.

The ATF will also issue a “best-practices guide to all federal firearms dealers to remind them about the important steps they are legally required to take, and additional steps they are encouraged to take, to keep their customers and communities safe.”

In addition, the Biden administration is also asking Congress and states to act.

“The president continues to urge Congress to pass an appropriate national “red flag” law, as well as legislation incentivizing states to pass their own versions of these laws,” the White House said.

SANTA FE, N.M. —

Discussions of workplace safety are now front and center after the fatal 'Rust' movie set shooting at Bonanza Creek Ranch.

On Oct. 21, Santa Fe County deputies said Alec Baldwin, the actor and co-producer of the film, discharged a prop gun that misfired. The weapon fatally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza.

Questions also remain, like how live rounds showed up on the set.

The lawyer for the film's armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez, released a statement Friday.

Jason Bowles said Gutierrez had no idea where the live rounds came from and added that the guns were locked up every night.

The incident has been a big concern for many people, including Baldwin.

On Saturday, Baldwin briefly spoke with reporters in Vermont, where he and his family have been laying low since the shooting.

"An ongoing effort to limit the use of firearms on film sets is something I’m extremely interested in," Baldwin said.

The actor added safety measures are needed when it comes to guns on movie sets.

"We have to realize that when it does go wrong, and it’s this horrible, catastrophic thing, some new measures have to take place," Baldwin said. "Whatever other people decide is the best way to go in terms of protecting people’s safety on film sets."

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state may take action to address those concerns.

Her office provided the following statement to sister station KOAT:

"Workplace safety in any and every industry in New Mexico is absolutely paramount. A workplace death is never acceptable and must compel an analysis of what can and should be done better. My full expectation is that the film and television industry will, at the conclusion of the investigation into this tragic incident and once all the facts are in hand, bring forward comprehensive new safety protocols to ensure this kind of incident never, ever happens again. If that sort of comprehensive new approach does not materialize, the state of New Mexico will take immediate action, throughout whatever means are available to us, to ensure the safety of all personnel on all film and television sets here in our state. This industry is important to us economically and to so many workers throughout New Mexico, and I look forward to a full accounting of how this could have possibly happened, and we will determine our next steps from there."

The investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been filed.

Production on the movie 'Rust' has since halted.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati's chief of police said more juveniles have been arrested for homicides this year than at any other time in his more than 30-year career.

Chief Eliot Isaac is retiring in early 2022, but noted the trend in his final months. As the city's homicides continue to tick up, so do the amount of juvenile arrests.

Kenneth Terrel Milner is Cincinnati's 75th homicide victim, shot and killed in Winton Terrace Thursday night. His father, Kenneth Elmer Milner, said his son was shot in the chest.

"My son ran in the house [and] grabbed a child, and he stood over my son and shot him twice – with the child in his arms," Milner said. "What kind of evil does that?"

The city has seen seven days of shootings, including one that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Javeir Randolph. Family said a car pulled up to Randolph as someone inside began shooting.

“His mom ran down there and was trying to do CPR on her son," said Nina Turner, Randolph's aunt. "Her son died in her arms. You know how hard that is? You got his blood on you and everything. Come on now. That's a hard feeling. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.”

The shooting was the second homicide in the neighborhood in two days. On Tuesday, 39-year-old Yarsellay Sammie died.

"Right now, we do need to be concerned," Isaac said.

Isaac said the increase in shootings is nationwide, but Cincinnati is noticing more juveniles with easy access to high-powered guns.

"We're not talking about some cheap old gun that belonged to Grandpa. We're talking about Glocks, AR-15s, we're talking abut sophisticated weapons," Isaac said. "We've taken over 1,300 guns off the street so far this year, more than any other year before, and yet we're still seeing what's occurring."

Cincinnati Police are still searching for a solution, Isaac said, even as the city invests more in youth programming than ever before.

"We can talk about programs, and there's a lot out there, but at the end of the day, when we're talking about juveniles, that starts at home," Isaac said. "Parents needs to be responsible for their kids. If you have 14- and 15-year-old kids that are out here committing violent crime, that begins at home. That has to start at home. There's no way to sugar-coat it."

Isaac said he is working with juvenile judges and the superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools to address problems specific to juvenile crimes.

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MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Undercover detective work led to the recovery of various narcotics, a gun and thousands of dollars in cash, the Butler County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday.

The Butler County Undercover Regional Narcotics task force Tuesday conducted a search warrant at a residence on Sutphin Street in Middletown, according to a news release. The drugs seized included marijuana, dabs -- a highly concentrated marijuana extract -- pressed pills believed to be fentanyl, and associated paraphernalia.

In addition to the drugs, task force officers confiscated $8,000 in cash and a handgun.

Officers detained three individuals in relation to the seizure, one of whom was arrested on outstanding warrants. The release indicated that at least two additional arrests will result, pending lab analysis results.

CINCINNATI —

The number of guns being stolen out of vehicles is climbing in Cincinnati.

It is an issue Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey now knows personally. Police are searching for a suspect and her service weapon after it was taken along with her county vehicle Saturday.

The car was reported stolen from her home in Columbia Tusculum and found a few hours later in Winton Terrace, but her 9-millimeter service weapon was missing. McGuffey says the car was locked and the alarm set when it was stolen.

WLWT requested data from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office regarding the number of guns stolen out of vehicles in recent years. We have not received those statistics yet.

WLWT requested and obtained data from the Cincinnati Police Department, which shows the number of guns stolen from vehicles in city limits has been steadily increasing since 2017.

More than 300 guns have been reported stolen every year since 2016. Halfway through 2021, the city is on track to see more than 400 guns stolen for the second year in a row. Keep in mind, the numbers only account for thefts reported to police.

The percentage of stolen guns taken from cars is also growing.

Cincinnati police data shows in 2016, 28% of stolen guns were taken out of vehicles. That number climbed to 35% in 2017, 36% in 2018, 38 percent in 2019 and 43 percent in 2020.

For the first six months of 2021, 44 percent of guns reported stolen in the city were taken from vehicles.

Local police do not recommend gun owners store their guns in their vehicle, especially overnight. At the least, police recommend citizens store their gun in a locked box inside the vehicle.

"You can store it in a case or in a lock box in your trunk, unloaded and un-chambered," said Tina Ling. "Storing them in your car really isn't the best idea."

Ling manages the Hammer Down Range in Loveland.

The gun range and store offer several options for customers to safely secure and store a gun or multiple guns. They sell small, medium and large personal vaults and Pelican cases that range from $35 to $70.

Each case offered has at least one lock.

"This is the medium-size one," she said, pointing out of $45 personal vault. "It can house up to two to three small firearms or two medium-size or one large...They do work pretty well, but it's not fool proof."

Ling said gun sales have been soaring since March of last year, demand has been high for accessories as well and she just got several cases back in stock.

The store is located on State Route 28 in Loveland.

President Joe Biden will unveil a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence on Thursday, delivering his first major action on gun control since taking office.

He'll also nominate David Chipman, a former federal agent and adviser at the gun control group Giffords, to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to senior Biden administration officials.

Biden has faced increasing pressure to act on gun control after a spate of mass shootings across the U.S. in recent weeks, but the White House has repeatedly emphasized the need for legislative action on guns. While the House passed a background-check bill last month, gun control measures face slim prospects in an evenly-divided Senate, where Republicans remain near-unified against most proposals.

Biden will be joined by Attorney General Merrick Garland at the event, and most of the actions will come from the Justice Department.

Biden is expected to announce tighter regulations requiring buyers of so-called “ghost guns” to undergo background checks. The homemade firearms — often assembled from parts and milled with a metal-cutting machine — often lack serial numbers used to trace them. It’s legal to build a gun in a home or a workshop and there is no federal requirement for a background check.

The president's plans were previewed by a person familiar with the expected actions who was not authorized to publicly discuss them.

Senior administration officials confirmed that the Justice Department would issue a new proposed rule aimed at reining in ghost guns within 30 days, but offered no details on the content of the rule.

The Justice Department will also issue a proposed rule within 60 days tightening regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces, like the one used by the Boulder, Colorado, shooter in a massacre last month that left 10 dead. The rule would designate pistols used with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles, which, under the National Firearms Act, require a federal license to own and are subject to a more thorough application process and a $200 tax.

The Justice Department will also publish model red flag legislation within 60 days, which the administration says will make it easier for states to adopt their own red flag laws. Such laws allow for individuals to petition a court to allow the police to confiscate weapons from a person deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

And it will begin to provide more data on firearms trafficking, starting with a new comprehensive report on the issue, which the Biden administration says it hasn’t done in over two decades.

The president will also announce investments in community violence intervention programs, which are aimed at reducing gun violence in urban communities, across five federal agencies.

Administration officials hinted there may be more to come from the administration on guns, calling the round of executive actions “initial steps” that were completed under Garland’s purview within the first few weeks of his tenure.

The ATF is currently run by Acting Director Regina Lombardo. Gun-control advocates have emphasized the significance of the ATF director in enforcing the nation's gun laws, and Chipman is certain to win praise from them. During his time as a senior policy adviser with Giffords, he spent considerable effort pushing for greater regulation and enforcement on ghost guns, reforms of the background check system and measures to reduce the trafficking of illegal firearms.

Prior to that, Chipman spent 25 years as an agent at the ATF, where he worked on stopping a trafficking ring that sent illegal firearms from Virginia to New York, and served on the ATF’s SWAT team. Chipman is a gun owner himself.

He also is an explosives expert and was among the team involved in investigating the Oklahoma City Bombing and the first World Trade Center bombing. He also was involved in investigating a series of church bombings in Alabama in the 1990s. He retired from the ATF in 2012.

Chipman and a White House spokesman both declined to comment.

During his campaign, Biden promised to prioritize new gun control measures as president, including enacting universal background check legislation, banning online sales of firearms and the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But gun-control advocates have said that while they were heartened by signs from the White House that they took the issue seriously, they've been disappointed by the lack of early action.

With the announcement of the new measures, however, advocates lauded Biden's first moves to combat gun violence.

“Each of these executive actions will start to address the epidemic of gun violence that has raged throughout the pandemic, and begin to make good on President Biden’s promise to be the strongest gun safety president in history,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

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Feinblatt in particular praised the move to regulate ghost guns, which he said “will undoubtedly save countless lives,” and lauded Chipman as an “invaluable point person” in the fight against illegal gun trafficking. He also said the group is looking forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration on further gun control measures, but it's unclear what next moves the White House, or lawmakers on Capitol Hill, will be able to take.

Biden himself expressed uncertainty late last month when asked if he had the political capital to pass new gun control proposals, telling reporters, “I haven’t done any counting yet."

For years, federal officials have been sounding the alarm about an increasing black market for homemade, military-style semi-automatic rifles and handguns. Ghost guns have increasingly turned up at crime scenes and in recent years have been turning up more and more when federal agents are purchasing guns in undercover operations from gang members and other criminals.

It is hard to say how many are circulating on the streets, in part because in many cases police departments don’t even contact the federal government about the guns because they can’t be traced.

Some states, like California, have enacted laws in recent years to require serial numbers be stamped on ghost guns.

The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver, a part typically made of metal or polymer. An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required.

A gunman who killed his wife and four others in Northern California in 2017 had been prohibited from owning firearms, but he built his own to skirt the court order before his rampage. And in 2019, a teenager used a homemade handgun to fatally shoot two classmates and wound three others at a school in suburban Los Angeles.

Plans for Biden's announcement Thursday were first reported by Politico.