Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance prompted outrage when he described a deadly school shooting in Georgia as “a fact of life.” Speaking at an Arizona rally, Vance addressed the murder of four people at Apalachee High School in Winder and answered questions about the future of gun laws in light of the incident. The Republican described the shooting as “an awful tragedy” and argued that gun limitation was not the answer.
Vance went on to accuse Vice President Kamala Harris of planning to remove Americans’ Second Amendment rights if she is elected to the White House in November. After insisting that weapons restrictions were not the right solution and would not solve the problem, Vance stated, “I don’t like that this is a fact of life.” The Ohio Senator believes that a more appropriate response would be to “bolster security” so that a “psycho” seeking fame cannot enter schools and create a bloodbath.
Kamala Harris responded to Vance’s remarks on social media, saying school shootings are not a fact of life. “It doesn’t have to be this way,” she added. The Vice President pledged to take action to protect America’s children. Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa repeated the promise, saying a future Harris administration will “keep our children safe and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”
Donald Trump expressed his view of the tragedy during an interview with Sean Hannity and simply stated that “it’s a sick and angry world” and that he will “make it better.”
Colt Gray was arrested and charged with four counts of murder after he shot and killed two fellow students and two teachers and injured several others. His father, Colin Gray, was also arrested and charged with several offenses, including four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
The FBI has confirmed that both father and son came under investigation in May after the agency received anonymous tips that Colt Gray had threatened to carry out a shooting at his school. The 14-year-old denied the claim, and law enforcement did not have evidence to detain him, so investigations were dropped.
