Crime scene tape surrounds the Mandalay Hotel (background) after a gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 2, 2017. 
Police said the gunman, a 64-year-old local resident named as Stephen Paddock, had been killed after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue. / AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON        (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
These are the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history
01:30 - Source: CNN
Washington CNN  — 

Former Vice President Joe Biden called on Congress Thursday to take action against gun violence in the wake of the Florida school massacre that left at least 17 people dead.

“I am at a loss for what more to say. I grieve with the families in Parkland today. I grieve with the families across the country who have suffered loss due to gun violence. Congress has a moral obligation to take action and spare more families from this violence,” Biden tweeted.

On Wednesday, a gunman killed at least 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in what is one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student, is in custody.

While in office, Biden spearheaded the White House’s efforts to reduce gun violence. President Barack Obama set up a federal task force with Biden at the helm in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut. Congress did not act on any gun legislation proposed by the White House.

Biden’s remark Thursday echoes those of other Democratic lawmakers who have pushed for congressional action to prevent similar mass killings in the future.

“Congress has a moral responsibility to take common sense action to prevent the daily tragedy of gun violence in communities across America,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted Wednesday.