Guns not to blame for latest tragedy, insists Trump

Sutherland SpringS: President Donald Trump said the United States was living in “dark times” as it grieved a shooting massacre at a Texas church, but with calls for stricter gun control reinvigorated, he insisted the latest tragedy “isn’t a guns situation”.

Sunday’s carnage saw a gunman wearing a bulletproof vest use an assault rifle to open fire on the congregation of a smalltown Texas church, killing 26 people and wounding 20 more.

“I think that mental health is your problem here,” Trump told journalists when asked if gun control could reduce the rampant firearms violence plaguing the United States.

Speaking in Tokyo as part of his Asia tour, the US president dubbed the gunman “deranged” and said the most recent mass shooting to hit the United States “isn’t a guns situation”.

Late Sunday, mourners held a candlelight vigil for victims in the tiny town left reeling in the aftermath of the nation’s latest bloodbath.

Trump called the “horrific shooting” an “act of evil”, ordering flags be flown halfstaff at the White House and federal buildings.

“Our hearts are broken but in dark times – and these are dark times – such as these, Americans do what they do best: we pull together,” he said.

Though he said “it’s a little bit soon to go into it” regarding calls for gun control, the president promised his administration’s “full support” for the investigation.

As with many other previous shootings, Democrats pointed to the latest tragedy to highlight the need for stricter gun control, a hotbutton issue in a country that holds the right to bear arms as almost sacred.

In denouncing the “act of hatred”, Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama said: “May God also grant all of us the wisdom to ask what concrete steps we can take to reduce the violence and weaponry in our midst.”