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Police officers on the premises of a furniture factory in the Texas city of Bryan: An attacker killed one person and injured several
Photo: SAM CRAFT / AFP
Shortly after the presentation of measures against gun violence by US President Joe Biden, there was another serious incident of this type in the United States.
In a furniture factory in the state of Texas, an attacker shot and killed a person on Thursday and injured several others, the police said.
The suspect, who was initially on the run, was arrested.
He was reportedly an employee of the cabinet-making factory.
As the local police chief Eric Buske announced, the perpetrator shot and injured one of the officers while he was on the run.
The police officer was seriously injured, but his condition is stable, said the Texan Ministry of Public Security.
Since the end of March, there had been a series of particularly serious gun attacks in the US states of California, Colorado and Georgia, each with several deaths.
"Eyesore" for the country
Biden condemned gun violence on Wednesday as an "epidemic" and "eyesore" for the country.
The President presented several ordinances to curb gun violence.
Stricter rules are to be enacted for so-called ghost weapons, which can be assembled by the users themselves and have no serial numbers.
New specifications should also apply to upgraded pistols.
At the same time, Biden called on Congress to take further measures by law.
Among other things, the president demands a ban on the sale of assault rifles and more extensive background checks for gun buyers.
However, it is highly uncertain whether a majority will be found in Congress.
There are calls for stricter gun laws after every major gun attack in the USA - but without any major success.
Stricter reviews of gun owners and the ban on weapons of war have been discussed in the US for a long time, but have not yet found the necessary majorities in Congress.
Many Republicans oppose tightening gun laws.
Tennessee allows pistols to be carried without a permit
While the US president is now trying to tighten gun controls in the country, the opposite has been enforced in the Republican-led state of Tennessee: From July, most adults no longer need a special gun license to carry pistols concealed or openly.
Republican Governor Bill Lee said it should not be difficult for law-abiding citizens to exercise their constitutional right to carry a gun.
The law he signed on Thursday (local time) allows most citizens who are at least 21 years old and legally in possession of their handguns in public without further authorization.
According to the local newspaper Tennessean, security leaders opposed the relaxation of gun laws.
However, the change in the law does not apply to larger weapons such as rifles.
The new regulation also tightened the maximum prison sentence for the theft of certain weapons from 30 days to 180 days.
In the United States, some of the 50 states allow weapons to be carried openly or covertly without the need for special permits or training.
cop / AFP / dpa