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Biden called for even more gun control, but police say Sacramento mass shooting was result of a gang firefight
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Biden called for even more gun control, but police say Sacramento mass shooting was result of a gang firefight

In the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting in Sacramento, California, that killed six and injured 15, President Joe Biden echoed a familiar sentiment among Democrats: "We must do more than mourn; we must act."

Of course, Biden was specifically calling for further restrictions on Americans' second amendment rights as an answer to the country's ongoing surge in violent crime.

"We also continue to call on Congress to act," the president said in a statement. "Ban ghost guns. Require background checks for all gun sales. Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Repeal gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability."

But new revelations from law enforcement quickly discredited Democrats' broad claims that gun regulations would have prevented the deadly incident. Instead, it appeared that, if anything, a tougher stance from law enforcement was due.

First, news broke that one of the suspects in the shooting, 27-year-old Smiley Martin, is a dangerous career criminal who was granted early release from prison only weeks before the shootout occurred — in spite of pleading and warning from the county's district attorney. The other suspect, 26-year-old Dandrae Martin, also has a criminal record.

Then on Wednesday, police in Sacramento reported that at least five suspects and "two groups of men" were involved in the shooting. They added that it had become "increasingly clear that gang violence is at the center of this tragedy."

"While we cannot at this time elaborate on the precise gang affiliation of individuals involved, gangs and gang violence are inseparable from the events that drove these shootings," the department said in a statement.

Authorities said they studied nearly 200 videos, photos, and other pieces of evidence in order to come to that conclusion.

"This tragedy downtown is a very public example of what families in many of our neighborhoods know too well," said Chief Kathy Lester, adding: "The suffering inflicted by gang violence does not limit itself to gang members. It spills over to claim and shatter innocent lives and harm our entire community."

As of Thursday, only two suspects — brothers who were wounded in the gunfire — have been charged in connection with the shooting. What's more, the only charges the suspects currently face are firearm charges. It seems more legislation may not have deterred the Martin brothers from engaging in their alleged crimes.

California, one of the country's most progressive states, unsurprisingly, already has some of the country's strictest gun laws.

BlazeTV host and columnist Jason Whitlock pressed exactly that point in a column on Monday.

"Biden conveniently ignores the fact that California is home to some of the most restrictive gun laws in this nation. Those laws have not stopped one Crip or Blood from possessing a gun and discharging it at their discretion. Criminals do not care about laws. That’s why they’re criminals," Whitlock wrote.

"Leftists do not want commonsense gun laws. They want to repeal the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms," he added.

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