‘We Have to Get Rid of Assault Weapons’: Senator and Veteran Says Highland Park Shooting Sounded Like Iraq War All Over Again

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke at a press conference in Highland Park, Illinois, just hours after a gunman killed six people and wounded at least 31 others. An Iraq war veteran who lost both legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Army helicopter, Duckworth said recordings of the shooting reminded her of combat.

Videos of the shooting circulated online, with shots ringing out in very rapid succession. The gunman remains at large, but authorities said 22-year-old Robert Crimo III is a person of interest in the case.

“This morning, I got up like most Americans, like the families of the six who were killed, to celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Duckworth began. “Those six families no longer have that opportunity. My heart goes out to those families who will never see their loved ones again.”

The senator referenced a recently enacted bipartisan gun safety law, but said more work needs to be done.

“Today, we have seen that we can’t just stop there,” she continued. “We have to do more to keep our community safe. We have to get rid of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and so many other additional commonsense reforms that wide majorities of Americans are crying out for.”

She concluded by saying the high-powered nature of the weapon reminded her of her time in Iraq.

“I just listened to the sound of that gunfire from one of the videos that was captured,” Duckworth stated. “And let me tell you that the last time I heard a weapon with that capacity firing that rapidly on a Fourth of July was Iraq. It was not the United States of America. We can and we should and we will do better.”

Watch above via CNN.

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