Rick Perry calls Charleston shooting an ‘accident’

An aide to Rick Perry claims the GOP presidential candidate misspoke when he referred to the mass shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., as “an accident.”

Speaking with Steve Malzberg of Newsmax, Perry criticized President Obama for using the massacre as an opportunity to raise the issue of gun reform, claiming the president was seeking to “take the guns out of the hands of everyone in this country.”

{mosads}”This is the MO of this administration,” Perry continued, “Anytime there is an accident like this, the president is clear: He doesn’t like for Americans to have guns, and so he uses every opportunity, this being another one, to basically go parrot that message.”

Perry’s campaign staff was quick to insist that Perry misspoke, intending to say “incident” instead of “accident.”

The former Texas governor gained a reputation for gaffes during his previous presidential campaign.

During a November 2011 Republican debate, Perry stumbled while trying to recall the third government agency he would eliminate if elected president.

“I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops,” Perry famously said.