(The Hill) – White Sox closer Liam Hendriks said “something needs to be done” after a shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, left six people dead on Monday.
“[I]n this day and age, it’s becoming all too commonplace. I think the access to the weaponry that is being kind of used in these things is that something needs to change. Something needs to be done. Something needs to happen because there’s way too many people losing their lives,” he said.
Hendriks, who is Australian, called it “stupid” that the United States has tighter restrictions on driving a car than buying a handgun.
“There’s a lot of things that are good over here, but you look at the negatives, and it’s just the complete kind of … I can walk into a store as a non-American and buy a handgun in certain states. And that baffles me because it takes longer,” he said.
“I had to take a driving test when I was over here. I won’t have to take a test if I want to get a gun. That’s stupid. Whoever thought that was a great idea is an idiot,” he added.
Hendriks’ remarks came hours after a Fourth of July parade became the scene of a mass shooting on Monday morning, leaving six people dead and dozens wounded. Robert E. Crimo III, who was identified as a person of interest in the shooting, is now in custody.
Many nearby Chicago suburbs canceled their Independence Day parades out of caution, and the White Sox canceled their fireworks for the evening but played their game against the Minnesota Twins as scheduled.
The development comes against the backdrop of recently signed bipartisan gun safety legislation passed in the wake of several high-profile shootings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Uvalde, Texas.