Politician O'Rourke Interrupts Texas Governor Press Conference On Uvalde School Shooting

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Politician O'Rourke Interrupts Texas Governor Press Conference on Uvalde School Shooting

A verbal brawl broke out in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday when the Democratic candidate for the the Texas Gubernatorial election confronted Governor Greg Abbott during a press conference, for speaking about mental health services in light of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary rather than addressing the issue of gun control

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2022) A verbal brawl broke out in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday when the Democratic candidate for the the Texas Gubernatorial election confronted Governor Greg Abbott during a press conference, for speaking about mental health services in light of the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary rather than addressing the issue of gun control.

"You're doing nothing. You're offering us nothing. This is totally predictable," O'Rourke said. "We owe these parents action."

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin called O'Rourke a "sick son of a bitch" after he interrupted the press conference. O'Rourke was escorted away from the stage by police officers.

"I can't believe you're a sick son of a bitch who would come do a deal like this to make a political issue," McLaughlin told O'Rourke.

Texas officials at the press conference said this is not a time to politicize the shooting.

Abbot is a stern supporter of the right to own guns and is due to attend the National Rifle Association's annual conference in Houston on Friday. US President Donald Trump also said he will attend the conference.

Texas a is a Republican-governed state with strong support for the right of citizens to own guns as enshrined in the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

O'Rourke has become extremely unpopular among conservatives in the state when he proposed banning what Democrats call "assault" weapons when he ran for US president in the 2020 election.

Abbott confirmed during the press conference that 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos shot and killed 19 students and two faculty members, and injured 17 others, at Robb Elementary in the city of Uvalde on Tuesday.

Abbottt said the gunman posted on social media that he shot his grandmother and was going to carry out a shooting at a school, but he did not specify which school at that time.

Ramos' grandmother was shot in the face but was still able to contact police, Abbott said. The gunman fled and crashed his truck and then ran into the school, he added.

School officers initally engaged the Ramos but then he entered into the school through a backdoor and went into a classroom that was connected internally to another classroom, Abbott said.

US Border Patrol agents, school police officers, local and state law enforcement officers converged on that classroom and a Border Patrol officer killed the gunman, Abbott added.

Abbott said Ramos had no known mental health or criminal history.