Texas Governor Tweeted About Texas Falling Behind in Gun Sales Before Shooting

A day after 26 people were killed in a mass shooting inside a South Texas church, Texas governor [...]

By Libby Birk

A day after 26 people were killed in a mass shooting inside a South Texas church, Texas governor Greg Abbott is being criticized for a statement he made about guns years ago.

One Twitter user named "brando" found a tweet from Abbott from October of 2015 saying that he was "embarrassed" that Texas wasn't the leading state in the nation for the most new gun purchases. Instead, according to data from the FBI, Texas ranked second behind California.

"I'm EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let's pick up the pace Texans. @NRA," Abbott tweeted, seemingly miffed that the state was not first in the nation.

Although the Twitter user mistakenly wrote that Abbott's tweet was from Oct. 28, 2017 — it is actually dated Oct. 28, 2015 — people are still criticizing the Republican governor for his stance on firearms.

More: The Man Who Pursued the Texas Shooter Speaks Out

"Maybe the next record gun death incident will happen in Texas...Will that add to your Alt-Right 'street-cred'...Greg..?" someone responded on Oct. 11 of this year.

"Are you happy now, Greg?" someone responded on Sunday, just hours after the mass shooting at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

"So as governor you are actually promoting gun sales? Shame on you," one person responded on Sunday.

Another Twitter user responded to the tweet from "brando", saying "He's an embarrassment."

The 59-year-old has yet to respond to the criticism, which comes less than 24 hours after the deadliest mass shooting in a place of worship in U.S. history. The Wilson County Sheriff's Office reported that of the 26 dead, "12-14" of the victims were children. At least two were 5 years old. The range in age of the victims spans from 5 years old to 72.

Suspected gunman Devin Patrick Kelley took off in his vehicle after shooting inside the church; a concerned passerby, Johnnie Langendorff, chased him in his truck, reaching speeds up to 95 miles per hour. Langendorff said Kelley began to lose control of his truck and crashed it about 10 miles away from the church. Police say Kelley was dead when they found him in his car, although it's unclear if he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or that of Langendorff's passenger, who had opened fire on Kelley.

A week before the mass shooting, Kelley shared a photo of an assault rifle on Facebook with the caption "She's a bad b---h." The Daily Mail reports that former classmates of Kelley's said he had posted about atheism online before the shooting.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of