President Donald Trump has said “hate has no place” in the US after 29 people were killed in two mass shootings over the weekend, amid accusations that he bears some responsibility.
An attack on a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas left 20 dead, while nine died in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
Trump said “perhaps more has to be done” to stop such attacks.
As the president spoke, top Democratic presidential candidates — including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Cory Booker — demanded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recall Congress from its recess, currently slated to last until the second week of September, to vote on initiatives to curb gun violence.
Addressing reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump promised “we’re going to take care” of the problem. He said he’s been speaking to the attorney general, FBI director and members of Congress and will be making an additional statement Monday morning.
But critics said he was part of the problem, citing his anti-immigrant rhetoric and opposition to gun control.
A 21-year-old white man arrested over Saturday’s shooting in Texas is believed to have posted an online document calling the attack a response to “the Hispanic invasion” of the state.
The motives of the Ohio gunman, who killed his sister and eight others on Sunday before being shot dead by police, are unclear.
