Kamala Harris goes off script to talk about Georgia school shooting by saying ‘this cannot happen’ and that she ‘loves Gen Z’
Kamala Harris went off script on Wednesday to blast the epidemic of school shootings in the United States, calling them ‘senseless’ and saying ‘it does not have to be this way.’
Harris, while campaigning in New Hampshire, addressed a school shooting that took place in Georgia on Wednesday morning, which happened as many students are returning to the classroom after summer break.
She acknowledged she was ‘going off script’ in making her comments and expressed empathy for what students and their parents go through.
‘It’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive,’ Kamala Harris said.
”By the way, I love Gen Z, I just love Gen Z,’ she said.
She noted when she visits universities, she asks the students how many of them have had to sit through an active shooter drill and that ‘almost every hand’ was raised.
‘I grew up in California, earthquake drills. We had fire drills, but our kids are sitting in a classroom where they should be fulfilling their god given potential and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door of the classroom. It does not have to be this way,’ she said.
Harris was in New Hampshire to talk about small businesses as part of her presidential campaign. She proposed a plan for an expansion of tax incentives for small businesses.
But she did address the Georgia shooting at the top of her remarks, saying ‘our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families, of course, and we are grateful to the first responders and law enforcement.’
She added this is ‘just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies, and it’s just outrageous that every day in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.’
‘It’s senseless. It is. We’ve got to stop it, and we have to end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all. You know, it doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be this way.’
‘This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,’ she added, before going back on script to talk about her economic plan.
Harris spoke from behind a wall of see-through bullet proof glass, a new feature to her outdoor rallies and one that comes after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump last month at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pa.
The shooting at a high school about 45 miles outside Atlanta on Wednesday morning left four dead – two students and two teachers – and an additional nine taken to various hospitals with injuries, state officials said.
A 14-year-old suspect is in custody.
Apalachee High School was put on lockdown after gunfire was reported at the scene around 10:30am on Wednesday.
Several schools in Georgia also were under lockdown on Wednesday morning, the fifth full week of school in the state.
Georgia police and the FBI are on the scene.
It is unclear if the deceased and victims are high school students or adults.
Students were evacuated into the football stadium after gunshots were fired at the school
Pictured: Heavily-armed police were seen entering the school on Wednesday morning
Apalachee High School – which returned from the summer vacation on August 1 – has about 1,900 students.
Heartbreaking videos showed frantic students rushing to the school’s football field, while others huddled around ambulances as people flooded out of the building.
School shootings are on the rise in the U.S.
There were at least 82 incidents in 2023, but 2022 was one of the deadliest years, with 46 fatalities, according to a CNN analysis.
President Joe Biden was been briefed on the shooting and said in a statement: ‘Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed.
‘What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.
‘Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.
‘We are closely coordinating with officials at the federal, state and local level, and are grateful for the first responders who brought the suspect into custody and prevented further loss of life.’