Trump appeals for unity
President says there are no easy answers to such horrors
President Trump said the Las Vegas attack was “an act of pure evil” and called for national unity in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“Hundreds of our fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss” of a parent, child, friend or other family member, Trump said at the White House on Monday. “We cannot fathom their pain, we cannot imagine their loss.”
Trump announced that he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday, and he said the FBI and Department of Homeland Security were working closely with local authorities. He praised the police department and first responders for their quick response to the attack Sunday night. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump was briefed early Monday.
The mass killing occurred as Trump’s ability to console the nation was already being tested by the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.
There were at least 14 mass shootings during President Obama’s two terms, a source of significant frustration for the president. In 2015, Obama described the incidents as having “no parallel anywhere else in the world.”
Trump didn’t refer to previous mass shootings in America or say whether anything can be done to prevent them. “In times such as these, I know we are searching for some kind of meaning in the chaos, some kind of light in the darkness,” he said. “The answers do not come easy.”
“We pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace,” said Trump, who issued a proclamation that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff through Oct. 6.
Vice President Pence extended sympathies to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting via a series of tweets. “To the courageous first responders, thank you for your acts of bravery,” Pence wrote.
The shooting is likely to lead to renewed calls by congressional Democrats for increased gun restrictions, including more extensive background checks. While Republicans control both chambers and the White House, those efforts are unlikely to gain traction.
Since 1980, there have been at least 56 mass shootings, defined as including three or more fatalities, in which the shooter used high-capacity ammunition magazines, according to the Violence Policy Center. This volume corresponds with a shift toward highcapacity firearms marketed by gun manufacturers. In 1980, semiautomatic pistols accounted for 32% of the handguns produced in America. By 1991, this proportion had jumped to 74%, according to the VPC.
Trump is still scheduled to travel Tuesday to Puerto Rico to review hurricane recovery efforts.
His response to the Las Vegas tragedy was focused on sympathy for the victims, in contrast to some of his statements as a candidate. After a mass shooting at an Oregon Community College in 2015, Trump said fewer people would have died if more of them had their own guns.