Biden to pay his respects to Maine shooting victims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will meet on Friday families and victims of a mass shooting that devastated the city of Lewiston, Maine.

The trip will be yet another test of Biden's ability to console people affected by tragedy, barely two weeks after he met in Tel Aviv with survivors of an attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel.

On Oct. 25, a gunman opened fire on people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, killing 18 people, injuring 13 and sending shock waves through the rural community.

Robert R. Card, 40, a U.S. Army reservist, was identified as the killer. He took his own life inside a cargo trailer parked on the lot of a recycling plant where he once worked.

Stefanie Feldman, director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, said the Bidens will meet family members, community members and first responders personally impacted by the shooting.

Biden is scheduled to make remarks at 4:15 pm EDT.

"Recovering from this attack will be long and difficult, and President Biden is committed to marshaling resources from across the federal government to support Lewiston every step of the way," she said.

She also said Biden will continue urging Congress to act on gun safety legislation that has been stalled.

The latest mass shooting in the United States prompted U.S. Representative Jared Golden, whose constituents died in the massacre, to reverse his opposition to a ban on assault-style weapons.

But his change of heart does not change the equation in Washington, where Biden's push to reinstate a ban of such guns has been a non-starter for Republicans who control the House of Representatives and back gun rights.

(Reporting By Steve Holland)