When asked on Monday about U.S. gun control measures, President Donald Trump said domestic gun laws were not the cause for the Texas church shooting, but rather “mental health problems.” He denied there was a problem with these laws and refuted the idea that gun control measures could have stopped the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs.
“Mental health is your problem here. This isn’t a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level,” Trump said.
On Sunday, a gunman killed over 26 people and injured another 20 when he opened fire at a Texas church. Among the victims there were children aged 5 as well as senior citizens. President Trump, who is currently visiting Asia, spoke at a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, describing the shooter as “a very deranged individual.” Trump has repeatedly refused to impose stricter gun control laws, and in February he even signed a bill terminating an Obama-era regulation which made purchasing a gun harder for individuals with mental health illnesses.
“Fortunately … somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction,” the president added at the press conference.
The attacker was identified as Devin Patrick Kelley, 26. He was killed several hours after the shooting at the First Baptist Church in which the pastor lost his daughter, CNBC reports. The governor called the attack the deadliest one in the history of Texas. A U.S. official said the shooter was not linked to organized terrorist groups, but added that investigators were looking at Kelly’s social media posts made just before the attack.
President Trump offered his condolences and expressed his hock at the incident. He called it “an act of evil,” adding that Americans will do what they always do, “pull through together.” Japan’s prime minister also offered his condolences over the shooting.
“I’d like to express my heart-felt solidarity to the people of the United States in this time of difficulty,” he said.
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