Beto O’Rourke called out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during the latter politician’s press conference on the shooting at Robb Elementary School, where at least 19 children and two adults were killed. “The time to stop the next shooting is right now and you are doing nothing,” Beto, who is the Democratic candidate for the state’s gubernatorial race this November, yelled at the May 25 conference. The 49-year-old politician got up and interrupted Greg, 64, blaming the Republican governor for the tragedy.
“You are offering us nothing. You said it’s not predictable. This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything,” Beto said. “This is on you until you choose to do something.”
"This is on you until you choose to do something": Beto O'Rourke confronts Gov. Abbott at briefing on Texas elementary school shooting. https://t.co/RdYLvfum24 pic.twitter.com/bqbQXTPm6O
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 25, 2022
Uvalde Mayor Don McLoughlin yelled back at Beto during the ruckus. “I can’t believe you’re a sick son of a b*itch who would come to this to make a political issue,” Don said. Beto ended up getting kicked out of the conference, though he continued to yell back at Greg and the others. He also spoke to reporters outside once he exited the press conference.
“If you want a solution, stop selling AR15s in the state of Texas. If you want a solution, start background checks,” he said. “But you need a governor who cares about the state of Texas.” Beto also pointed out that Gov. Abbott is set to attend an upcoming NRA convention “to brag about the laws he has passed to makes guns easier to get.” “Now is the time, literally right now to stop the shootings,” he added. “I have three kids and that is what they want, right now. The majority of Texans want change right now.”
Beto also expressed his outrage over the shooting on Twitter, writing, “These massacres aren’t natural disasters, acts of God, or random. They are totally predictable, direct consequences of the choices made by Greg Abbott and the majority of those in the legislature.”
At the conference, Gov. Abbott defended the 18-year-old shooter Salvadore Romus‘s ability to purchase a gun. “Over the course of 60 years, we have not had episodes like this. And why is it that for the majority of those 60 years, we did not have school shootings. And why is it that we do now? The reality is I don’t know the answer to that question,” the governor said. “However, what I do know and talking to the leaders here, as well as leaders and other locations around the state, and that is, one thing that has substantially changed is the status of mental health in our communities. What I do know is this. And that is, we as a state we as a society, leader do a better job with mental health. Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge period. We as a government, need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it.”
These massacres aren’t natural disasters, acts of God, or random.
They are totally predictable, direct consequences of the choices made by Greg Abbott and the majority of those in the legislature. https://t.co/CqGhAefmPg
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) May 25, 2022
At least 21 people were killed in the school shooting that occurred in Uvalde, a mostly Latino community. Among those massacred was 10-year-old Alithia Ramirez and on May 25, her parents invited Beto into their home to share memories of their “beautiful, talented, happy” daughter and the Texas politician took to his social media to get their message out. “Alithia was killed yesterday. Her parents welcomed me into their home today. Balloons from Alithia’s 10th birthday were still up as was her amazing art. They want the world to know what a beautiful, talented, happy girl she was. They never want this to happen to another kid,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
He also shared a recent photo of Alithia, along with pictures of her artwork, proudly displayed on her parents’ fridge. The shooter responsible for her murder, and the other senseless killings at the Uvalde elementary school has been identified as 18-year-old male named Salvadore Romus. He was reportedly killed by responding officers during the incident. It’s been reported that Salvadore shot his own grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary and opening fire. Salvatore used a handgun and possibly a rifle at the school.
During a press briefing Tuesday night, President Joe Biden sent his support to the affected families and demanded change. “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone?” he said. “It’s time to turn this pain into action … We have to make it clear to every elected official in this country, it’s time to act.”