Gun debate hits a high
‘A CIVILIAN – WITH A GUN – STOPPED KILLER, SAVED LIVES’
Raw with grief over the killing of several of his friends, Robert Kunz has no time for the argument that the latest mass shooting means America’s gun culture must change.
“A gun didn’t kill those people. Didn’t kill my friends,” the 50-year-old told AFP, standing across the street from the church where a gunman shot dead 26 parishioners, including an unborn child, in the tiny community of Sutherland Springs.
What’s more, he emphasised, “a gun stopped him... Not a cop gun. A civilian.”
Kunz is among the many local residents hailing Stephen Willeford, 55, who fired at the gunman with his own AR-15 assault rifle – shooting and wounding him as he emerged from the church.
It’s a view echoed by President Donald Trump, who said if the “very brave” Willeford had not been armed, “instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead”.
Stricter background checks, Trump suggested, would have made “no difference” in averting the tragedy.
The latest gun massacre to strike the United States has reignited the nation’s fraught debate over gun control, with many Democrats calling to tighten regulations and the New York Times editorial board emphasising that “this is the time” for a legislative response to recurring fatal shootings.
Evangelina Santos, whose brother died in the attack, told CNN through tears enough was enough: “No more guns.” – AFP