On Saturday, Democratic presidential candidates pounced on the shooting in Texas that killed five and wounded several others as they looked to boost their campaigns.
The candidates, most of whom support abortion up until the moment of birth, immediately seized on the tragedy and looked to score political points.
Beto O’Rourke, desperately seeking attention, used profanity in a tweet, writing: “We don’t know how many have been killed. We don’t know the motivation. But here’s what we do know: This is f***** up.”
O’Rourke also called for confiscating semi-automatic firearms from law-abiding Americans.
Joe Biden tweeted: “I’m heartbroken, sickened, & angry. Weeks after the horror in El Paso, another community in Texas has been terrorized by gun violence. Enough. We must end this epidemic. @DrBiden & I send our thoughts to those affected & thank our law enforcement who responded at great risk.”
Elizabeth Warren tweeted: “I’m heartsick for the victims of this latest mass shooting in Odessa and Midland. We shouldn’t have to live with this near daily fear and horror. We’ve already lost far too many to gun violence—Congress must act now.”
Kamala Harris tweeted: “Keeping the Midland and Odessa community and the victims in my thoughts and prayers. Grateful to first responders who ran into harm’s way. I’m sick of this. America is sick of this. We need to act.”
Andrew Yang tweeted: “The Odessa shooting is horrific – people shot randomly in a shopping center for no reason. My heart goes out to the families of the dead and wounded, including our brave law enforcement officers. We must do all we can to curb the scourge of gun violence in this country.”
“We are the only country that struggles with gun violence at this level,” Yang added. “Other countries respond to tragedy. We must as well. Our people deserve better than to live in fear and be struck down at random. We are better than this. We will do better for our kids.”
John Delaney tweeted: “Another tragic mass shooting. We have to take action. Universal background checks, banning assault weapons, red flag laws and more. People deserve to be safe driving down the highway, going to church, going to school, everywhere.”
Cory Booker tweeted: “A 17-month-old baby. It’s perverse that we live in a society where this is allowed to happen. My heart goes out to all those affected by today’s mass shootings in Odessa and Midland, Texas.”