Shawdesh desk:

US Vice-President Kamala Harris has made an impassioned plea for a ban on assault weapons in the wake of two deadly mass shootings in the US.

Harris was attending the funeral of Ruth Whitfield, 86, killed in a supermarket in Buffalo on 14 May.

That shooting came just 10 days before an attack on a Texas primary school left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Harris, listing these and other attacks, said it was time to say “enough is enough” to gun violence.

The 18-year-old gunman in Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde had two AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles, at least one of which he is reported to have bought soon after his birthday.

After he was shot dead, police found as many as 1,657 rounds of ammunition and 60 magazines in his possession.

The Buffalo, New York, shooter, also 18, had previously come into contact with authorities, but no red flags came up when he legally bought his own AR-15-style weapon.

The powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby uses its substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.

US President Joe Biden is expected to make his own call for tighter gun controls during a visit to Uvalde on Sunday. On Saturday he urged Americans to “make their voices heard” against gun violence.