US President Joe Biden made a solemn trek on Friday to the 2 websites in Lewiston, Maine, the place a gunman killed 18 people last month and stated the most recent mass taking pictures had opened painful wounds all throughout America.

“We’re right here to grieve with you, so you already know you’re not alone,” said Biden, who was joined by his wife Jill.

The Bidens placed a spray of flowers at a memorial for the victims set up outside Schemengees Bar and Grille, and later visited the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley, the two places where gunfire rang out and patrons were killed.

The trip was yet another test of Biden’s ability to console people affected by tragedy, barely two weeks after he met in Tel Aviv with survivors of an attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel. Biden noted he had visited the sites of other mass shootings since he became president in early 2021 — “too many to depend.” On Oct. 25, a gunman opened fire on people first at the bowling alley and then at the bar, killing 18 people, injuring 13 and sending shock waves through the rural community.

Robert R. Card, 40, a U.S. Army reservist, was identified as the killer. He took his own life inside a cargo trailer parked on the lot of a recycling plant where he once worked.

Biden renewed his long-shot appeal for measures aimed at reining in rampant gun violence, saying he believed that a consensus among Democrats and Republicans is ultimately possible.

“This is about frequent sense, cheap, accountable measures to guard our youngsters, our households, our communities,” he said.

After his remarks, the Bidens met privately with family members, community members and first responders personally affected by the shooting.

“Recovering from this assault will likely be lengthy and tough, and President Biden is dedicated to marshaling sources from throughout the federal authorities to assist Lewiston each step of the way in which,” said Stefanie Feldman, director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

She additionally stated Biden will proceed urging Congress to behave on gun security laws that has been stalled.

The newest mass taking pictures within the United States prompted U.S. Representative Jared Golden, whose constituents died within the bloodbath, to reverse his opposition to a ban on assault-style weapons.

But his change of coronary heart doesn’t change the equation in Washington, the place Biden’s push to reinstate a ban of such weapons has been a non-starter for Republicans who management the House of Representatives and again gun rights.