Harris goes off-script to address Georgia school shooting: ‘It does not have to be this way’

Vice President Harris on Wednesday went off-script at a rally in New Hampshire to condemn gun violence following a shooting at a Georgia high school earlier that day.

Harris called the shooting a “senseless tragedy,” adding, “we’ve got to end their epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all.”

She then said she was going off-script and described her visit to college campuses last year, when she met with Gen Z students to discuss gun violence.

“By the way, I love Gen Z, I just love Gen Z,” she said. “One of the things that I asked every time that I went to an auditorium ... raise your hand if at any point from kindergarten to 12th grade you had to go through an active shooter training.”

She added, “Every hand went up.”

Harris noted she had earthquake drills and fire drills as a student in California.

“But our kids are sitting in a classroom, where they should be fulfilling their God given potential, and some part of their brain is worried about a shooter busting through the classroom. It does not have to be this way,” she said.

“This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,” the vice president added, before moving back on script to talk about her economic plan.

Georgia authorities said four people were killed in the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. The suspected shooter is in custody, and Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he directed all available state resources to respond and gather information.

President Biden was briefed earlier Wednesday on the shooting and said in a statement that he is “mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence.”

“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,” the president said.

He also called for Republicans in Congress to work across the aisle to do more on curbing gun violence.