Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have begun ‘serious’ negotiations on finding a bipartisan solution to rising gun violence, Senator Chris Murphy confirmed on Sunday.

The Connecticut Democrat said he was ‘in touch’ with members of the GOP including Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and others on both sides of the aisle in the wake of a horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas where a gunman with an assault rifle killed 19 elementary school students and their two teachers.

‘We have continued to work throughout the weekend,’ Murphy said on ABC News’ This Week.

‘These are serious negotiations and we are going to continue to meet through early next week to try to find some common ground.’