President Trump in a tweet early Sunday morning called the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, an “act of cowardice.”
“I know that I stand with everyone in this Country to condemn today’s hateful act,” the president wrote. There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people.”
He added that “Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the great people of Texas.”
{mosads}Trump in an earlier post said he spoke with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) about the shooting and offered the federal government’s “total support.”
At least 20 people have been confirmed dead by local law enforcement in the mass shooting that took place in a crowded Walmart Saturday morning.
Texas officials confirmed that the suspect, identified as a 21-year-old male from the Dallas area, was the author of a racist and anti-immigrant manifesto that appeared on the online forum 8chan before the attack.
Former Rep. Beto O’ Rourke. (D), who previously served as El Paso’s mayor, condemned the shooting Saturday and slammed Trump in the process. He called the president racist and said Trump is partly responsible for the shooting due to his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), denounced the shooting as an act of “white terrorism” in a statement Saturday shortly before O’Rourke’s remarks.
Trump’s tweets came just moments before a gunman opened fire in Dayton, Ohio, killing 9 people and injuring at least 16 others.