President Trump Offers Encouragement to Shooting Victims in Las Vegas Visit
President Donald Trump visited with survivors of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history in Las Vegas on Wednesday (Oct. 4), telling them, "We are there for you."
A lone gunman opened fire on the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night (Oct. 1), killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500 more concertgoers before taking his own life with a gunshot to the head. No motive has been revealed for the killing spree.
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where 104 victims arrived after the mass shooting late Sunday night. Four of those victims died after arriving with what staff characterized as “non-survivable injuries.” Twelve patients remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon, according to USA Today.
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"The message I have is: 'We have a great country and we are there for you,'" Trump said after meeting with patients and medical staff.
"Our souls are stricken with grief," Trump added in later remarks to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, saying he was honored to be "in the company of heroes."
"We know your sorrow feels endless .... We will endure the pain together. We will overcome it together as Americans," he said.
Trump said he has received a full briefing about the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, and said police still have not established a motive, although they are "looking very hard."
The president once again declined to talk about the possibility of proposing any changes to gun control policy, echoing remarks from the White House and himself earlier in the week by saying, "We are not going to talk about that today." Many Democratic legislators have renewed calls for what they call common sense gun control measures, including an assault weapons ban and limiting access to mentally ill people and those on the no-fly list. Several Republican lawmakers have pushed back against that, saying it's not the right time to talk about gun control so soon after the attack.
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