Wounded lawmaker says he prays for Vegas victims
WASHINGTON (AP): HOUSE MAJORITY Whip Steve Scalise says he agrees with President Donald Trump that the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 people was “an act of pure evil”.
Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, returned to the Capitol last week after he was shot and critically wounded in June as he and fellow Republicans practised for a congressional baseball game. Scalise said he prays for the victims of the shooting and that the whole nation grieves with their loved ones.
Scalise encouraged people across America to stand together in solidarity to support the Las Vegas community, “especially by giving blood and encouraging others to do the same. In the face of unspeakable evil, our whole nation must respond with countless acts of kindness, warmth and generosity”.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut says it’s time for Congress to do something about mass shootings after more than 50 people were gunned down in Las Vegas.
MASS SHOOTING ‘EPIDEMIC’
Murphy, a leading gun-control proponent, said mass shootings had become an “epidemic” in America.
He said “it is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic.”
Other Democrats condemned the shooting but did not specifically urge gun-control legislation. Action in the Republicancontrolled Congress is unlikely.
House Speaker Paul Ryan ordered flags over the Capitol lowered to half mast and said “the whole country stands united in our shock, in our condolences and in our prayers”.