UVALDE / OSLO (VG) The democratic politician Beto O’Rourke was thrown out of a press conference on Wednesday night after the school shooting in Uvalde in Texas.
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O’Rourke, who was approaching the podium as Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot was about to end his speech, disrupted the press conference.
Abbot talked about mental health challenges after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, but said nothing about making gun laws stricter.
– You do nothing! It’s completely predictable, O’Rourke said.
He is running as the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Texas against Greg Abbot.
It immediately created strong reactions on stage. Several shouted that he had to get out and that it was inappropriate of him.
“You’re a sick bastard who uses this to advance your personal point of view,” shouted one of the people standing next to Abbot.
O’Rourke was thrown out of the room.
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O’Rourke is perhaps best known for running as the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016. He then lost to Hillary Clinton, who lost the presidential election to Donald Trump.
– I’m telling the truth
VG was among the media that met O’Rourke as he was thrown out. Then he explained why he went to the podium to speak.
He says he has a lot to say, but did not get to say everything.
– You were thrown out, but why are you leaving the place?
– Because I’m telling the truth. These children died because the governor of the state of Texas, the most powerful man in the state, chooses to do nothing. He went to Santa Fe High School when children were killed in their classrooms, told his parents to do something, but did nothing. He came to my hometown of El Paso after 23 people were killed. He said he would do something, but did nothing, he says.
– What is the truth?
“These children died because the governor of the state of Texas, the most powerful man in the state, chooses not to do anything,” O’Rourke said.
– The only thing he did was to make it easier to buy firearms.
Accuses the governor
O’Rourke accuses Governor Abbot of doing nothing to stop shooting tragedies.
– You have previously said «we will take your AR15», do you want to say it again?
– No one should have an AR15. There is no reason unless you are a soldier in war because it is a weapon designed to take the lives of people, he says to VG.
– If nothing happens now, then I want to hear something and I’m not alone.
– Some might call this a “political theater”. How would you respond to that?
– I would call this «change». I think that change is necessary.
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O’Rourke says Abbot boasted that you can buy weapons without a background check and training.
– You know, he talked about what happened was evil. The only evil is the one he continues to expose the people of Texas to. He said it was unpredictable. But this was predictable. And I predict this will continue to happen when you have a governor who does not stand up for Texans
– His only interest is the weapons lobby. He will speak for the National Rifle Association Congress on Friday this week, just days after these children were killed, he says.
– Evil struck
On Monday, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Before he himself was shot and killed by the police, he managed to kill 19 children and two adults at the school in the worst school shooting on American soil in ten years.
READ ALSO: These are the victims
Before O’Rourke interrupted the press conference, Abbott confirmed that the perpetrator shot his own grandmother in the face, before setting off for school.
– Let me point out the obvious first: Evil hit Uvalde yesterday. Everyone who shoots their grandmother in the face must have evil in their hearts, he said.
– But it is far worse to shoot down children. It is not tolerable to have people among us who kill children at school, he continued.
Abbott said Texans mourn with Uvalde.
“Families are destroyed,” he said.
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Shared posts on social media
Abbott said he would correct some information that has emerged after the shooting.
– The first thing that happened was that the shooter shot his grandmother in the face. She then called the police while he was running to school, he said.
- 19 children have been killed.
- Two employees at the school lost their lives.
- 17 people were injured, but not life-threateningly injured.
- Three police officers were injured.
About the course of events at the school, Abbott said the following:
Officers went to the shooter and communicated with him. He then went in a back door and down a hallway and into a classroom, which had a door into another classroom. The police entered that classroom and took the life of the shooter.
Abbott said there was no warning about the school shooting, except for Facebook posts about half an hour before the school shooting:
- In the first post, the perpetrator is said to have written “I will shoot my grandmother.
- In the second post, he is said to have written “I shot my grandmother”.
- In the third post, about a quarter of an hour before the school shooting, he wrote “I will shoot a primary school”.
Abbott stated that there is no information that the perpetrator has previously had problems with mental health. Nevertheless, he highlighted problems with mental health in Uvalde.
– We have a problem with people who are mentally ill in this local community. We need funds to deal with it, both the mayor and the sheriff are said to have said.
Ramos’ motive is so far unclear, but according to state authorities he must have acted alone.
Before entering primary school, Ramos is said to have shot his grandmother and crashed the car on the side of the road near the school.
Uvalde is a small town of about 16,000 inhabitants, about 135 miles west of San Antonio, in the far south of Texas. The local community is in shock after the incident.
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