IRISH AMERICAN presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has doubled down on his angry reaction to the latest mass shooting in the US.
Seven people were killed and at least 20 wounded in an incident that unfolded after police stopped a car somewhere between the cities of Midland and Odessa.
A violent chase ensued, with the armed driver at one point abandoning his car and stealing a US postal service vehicle.
The gunman, who was white and said to be in his mid-30s, was shot dead near a cinema with officials saying the incident has no connection to terrorism.
A 17-month-old girl was hit in the chest and face by shrapnel during the ‘random’ shooting spree. His motives remain unclear.
In the wake of the incident, Democrat presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke gave an emotional interview on CNN in which he was shown a video of himself describing the shooting as “f**ked up”.
Challenged to elaborate on his comments, O’Rourke held nothing back.
.@BetoORourke just said “Yes, this is fucked up" live on CNN in response to the latest shooting pic.twitter.com/86oc0zWB06
— Colin Jones (@colinjones) September 1, 2019
"We're averaging around 300 mass shootings a year,” he said.
“No other country comes close. So yes, this is f**ked up."
"If we don't call it out for what it is, if we're not able to speak clearly, if we're not able to act decisively, then we'll continue to have this kind of bloodshed in America, and I cannot accept that."
The comments come weeks after O’Rourke slammed President Donald Trump in the wake of a mass shooting in El Paso that saw 20 people killed and dozens injured.
“Connect the dots. He’s not tolerating racism, he’s inciting it. He’s not tolerating violence, he’s inciting racism and violence in this country.”
O'Rourke later reiterated to CNN: "Let's be very clear about what is causing this and who the president is.
"He is an open avowed racist and is encouraging more racism in this country."
See More: Beto O'Rourke, Gun Control, Newsletterl, Texas Shooting
