- During a press conference in Japan earlier today, the press asked President Trump about Sunday’s mass murder in a Sutherland Springs, Texas church. As ABC News reports, the President doesn’t consider Devin Kelley’s crime a result of “lax gun laws.”
“Mental health is your problem here. This was a very, based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual, a lot of problems over a long period of time. We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries. But this isn’t a guns situation,” President Trump said of the First Baptist Church shooting during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Better yet, the CINC acknowledged the contribution made by an armed individual in stopping Devin Kelley and potentially saving more lives.
The president went on to say that it’s a “little bit soon” to be talking about guns following the tragic event, and suggested that the death toll could have been higher had it not been for another armed individual who opened fire on the assailant, according to witnesses.
“Fortunately somebody else had a gun that was shooting in the opposite direction otherwise … it would have been much worse,” the president said. “This is a mental health problem at the highest level.”
Hear hear. Like all occupants of the Oval Office, Trump certainly has his weak points and limitations. And no shortage of detractors on both sides of the aisle. But when was the last time we heard such measured, reasoned comments after a headline mass shooting?