HARRISBURG (TNS) — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman called for a ban on “military-grade assault weapons” following a July 4 holiday with more gun-related carnage across the country.

“There is a sad irony about our country experiencing multiple mass shootings on a day that is meant to celebrate its greatness and our freedom,” Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, said in a statement released by his campaign.

Fetterman’s comments came after a sniper on a rooftop, using what police described as a high-powered rifle, killed seven people and injured dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., near Chicago, and two officers were shot and wounded as a holiday event in Philadelphia was ending.

In his statement, Fetterman said he and wife, Gisele, were “heartbroken” at the violence and wished a speedy recovery to the two Philadelphia officers.

Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz did not post anything about the Philadelphia or Chicago-area shootings on his social media accounts.

“The unfortunate reality is that (Monday’s) shooting was not an outlier,” Fetterman said, noting that three people were killed and 12 wounded in another Philadelphiashooting last month “in one of the city’s most vibrant areas.”

He called that incident “a stark reminder that no one and nowhere is immune to gun violence.”

Fetterman called on Senate Democrats to abolish the filibuster that has prevented advancement of many bills in the evenly-divided Senate, to not only enact a ban on assault weapons and “high-capacity magazines,” but also implement universal background checks on all gun sales.

The Senate is split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the deciding vote for Democrats, but Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona oppose abolishing the filibuster.