NEW YORK — President Joe Biden will meet with Mayor Eric Adams in New York City next week to discuss anti-gun violence measures, the White House said Wednesday, following a shooting that killed two NYPD officers in Harlem.
Biden and Adams will meet on Thursday, Feb. 3, the White House said in a press release.
Their discussion will focus on the Biden administration’s “comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime, which includes historic levels of funding for cities and states to put more cops on the beat and invest in community violence prevention and intervention programs, as well as stepped up federal law enforcement efforts against illegal gun traffickers,” the release said.
President Joe Biden will meet with Mayor Eric Adams in New York City on Feb. 3 to discuss anti-gun violence measures, the White House said Wednesday
The travel announcement came five days after a gunman opened fire as three NYPD officers were responding to a family dispute at an apartment building in Harlem
Two officers who were shot during the incident — Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27 — succumbed to their injuries
After the shooting, Adams called on the federal government to "step up" to address gun violence in New York City and other metropolitan areas
In his own statement confirming Biden’s visit, Adams said he “look[ed] forward to welcoming President Biden to New York City next week and sitting down to discuss how we can work collaboratively to end the scourge of gun violence we are seeing on New York City streets.”
Neither the White House nor Adams immediately provided any additional details about the meeting.
The president’s travel announcement came five days after a gunman opened fire as three NYPD officers were responding to a family dispute at an apartment building in Harlem.
Two officers — Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27 — were shot during the incident, authorities said. Rivera died Friday night; NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell on Tuesday confirmed that had Mora also succumbed to his injuries.
After the shooting, Adams called on the federal government to “step up” to address gun violence in New York City and other metropolitan areas.
“We know we’re doing the right job on the ground,” the mayor said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. “But there’s an endless flow that continues to come through our city borders.”
“Just as there are a small number of shooters, there’s a small number of shooters in the city, there are a small number of gun dealers that are providing these guns in different ways,” he added. “We need to close those loopholes, and we have not, and that’s the help we need from the federal government.”
Biden on Saturday tweeted that he and first lady Jill Biden were “saddened to hear two NYPD officers were shot last night — one fatally,” adding that he and his wife were “keeping them and their families in our prayers.”
On Tuesday, after news of Mora’s passing broke, the president on Twitter wrote that he was “deeply saddened” by his death “as a result of last Friday’s senseless shooting.”
“Today is a sad reminder of the risks the men and women of law enforcement face to protect us, and of the work we all must do to end the scourge of gun violence,” he wrote.
This past September, Biden visited New York City and New Jersey to survey damage in neighborhoods that were hit by Hurricane Ida.
(责编： 洋洋 )