(Marc Bell / Reuters)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blamed the Uvalde school shooting for killing 19 children and two teachers for mental health issues.
“Before coming here, we had a long discussion with law enforcement at all levels … and I asked an open question to the sheriff and other people and I received the same answer from both the sheriff and the mayor. The question was, what is the problem here? And they were frank and emphatic. They said … “We have a problem with mental illness in this community.” facing the community and the need for more mental health support in this region, ”Abbott said.
Just before those statements, Abbott said the gunman used an AR-15 to carry out the shooting and had no known mental health history.
The governor also said there are mental health services and counseling available for the community affected by the shooting.
When a reporter later asked him about the ability of an 18-year-old to buy firearms, Abbott doubled down and said it was a “mental health challenge” every time someone used a gun to shoot at somebody else.
“So the ability of an 18-year-old to buy a long gun has been in force in the state of Texas for over 60 years, and he thinks that over the course of those 60 years, we haven’t had any episodes, so why didn’t we have school shootings for most of those 60 years and why do we do it now? ” said the governor.
“What I know from talking to leaders here and elsewhere in the state and that’s the only thing that’s changed substantially is the state of mental health in our communities. What I do know is this. And that, as a state, as a society, we have to do a better job with mental health, anyone who shoots someone has a mental health challenge, period, as a government we have to find a way to approach this mental health challenge and do something about it, ”he said.