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Rep. Pete Aguilar was leaving the House floor after the first votes of the day when his staff broke the news: There was an active shooter in his district. He never made it back for the next series of votes.

"My heart aches that the out-of-control gun violence epidemic has come to our community," the

Redlands Democrat tweeted at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday before boarding a plane home to California.

By the time he landed, officials said at least 14 were dead and 17 more were wounded in the shooting at the San Bernardino Inland Community Center. Two suspects were dead.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5), Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, sent a letter signed by 114 of his colleagues calling on the White House to take action to reduce gun violence. The letter urges the president to close the background check loophole through executive action. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) read a letter signed by 24 senators also asking the president to take executive action to close the background check loophole.

Dozens of House Democrats are pushing to end the federal ban on gun violence research.

In a Friday letter to Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the Democrats urged the two senior appropriators to remove the decades-old prohibition as part of a year-end government spending package.

If Republicans won’t pass legislation to curb the nation’s gun violence, House Democrats say the president should.

In a letter Monday, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and 114 of his Democratic colleagues urged President Obama to close the private sale loophole through executive action that now allows guns to be sold without a background check.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-5) today announced a $145,101 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Project Based Voucher grant for the Housing Authority of the City of Napa. The grant will provide 17 Section 8 VASH vouchers for the Valley View Senior Homes.

Saturday afternoon at Middletown Minnie Cannon Elementary, the Bike Angels presented children affected by the recent fires with 500 bikes. It was the third bike giveaway organized by the group, who has given upwards of 800 bikes to fire impacted children. Though the Bike Angels won’t be doing another giveaway, they’re setting up a bike depository for kids still in need of wheels. Congressman Mike Thompson arrived at the event to greet children and their parents and help give away bikes.