Biden to visit Lewiston, Maine, in wake of mass shooting

President Joe Biden and the first lady will travel on Friday to Lewiston, Maine, to meet with survivors of a mass shooting that left 18 people dead and injured more than a dozen others.

The trip comes after an invitation to the president from Maine Gov. Janet Mills earlier this week. After officials found the shooter dead on Friday after a days-long manhunt, the state has been able to shift from crisis mode to dealing with the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting this year.

“The President and First Lady will pay respects to the victims of this horrific attack and grieve with families and community members, as well as meet with first responders, nurses, and others on the front lines of the response,” the White House said in a statement.

Maine is the latest state the president has had to visit in the wake of gun violence. Even after Biden has signed several executive actions and a historic gun safety bill, gun violence has remained a pervasive problem throughout Biden’s three years in office, and remains the number one killer of children in the United States.

Biden and his administration has invested in community violence intervention. Following back-to-back shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, the White House worked with a bipartisan coalition in Congress to pass the first gun legislation into law in nearly three decades. That deal, signed by Biden in June 2022, toughened background checks for young gun buyers, helped states implement red flag laws and kept firearms from more domestic violence offenders. The following month, the Senate confirmed the first director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms since 2013.

In September, the president also announced the creation of the federal Office of Gun Violence Prevention, tapping Stefanie Feldman, a longtime Biden aide who previously worked on the Domestic Policy Council, as its director. Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox were announced as deputy directors. Vice President Kamala Harris oversees the new office.

Jackson, a gun violence survivor and advocate, was on the ground in Lewiston earlier this week, meeting with officials and community members.