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Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a press conference in Uvalde after the mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead.
Abbott said he would be passing the microphone to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, when O’Rourke stood up. “You are doing nothing,” O’Rourke said.
One of the officials on stage told O’Rourke, “You are out of line” and said, “I can’t believe you are a sick son of a b**** and would come here to make a political issue.”
Law enforcement officers appeared to escort O’Rourke out of the news conference afterward. CBS News’ Janet Shamalian said it appeared that some people had saved seats for O’Rourke.
After O’Rourke was escorted out, Abbott did not address the incident directly but called for unity, saying that “every Texan, every American has a responsibility where we need to focus not on ourselves and our agendas, but we need to focus on the healing and hope that we can provide those who have suffered unconscionable damage to their lives and loss of life.”
“We need all Texans in this moment in time to decide to personal agendas, think of somebody other than ourselves, think of somebody who has been hurt and help somebody who has been hurt,” he continued.
During his failed presidential run in 2019, O’Rourke was an outspoken advocate for gun control measures. A former congressman, O’Rourke represented El Paso, where a gunman shot and killed 23 people.
After that shooting, O’Rourke memorably said during a presidential debate, “Hell yes, we are taking your guns” about AR-15s. Abbott and other law enforcement officials stated Wednesday that the shooter in Uvalde used an AR-15.
Before O’Rourke’s interruption, Abbott called for solutions to the mental health crisis in Uvalde, although he also said that the shooter had no known history of mental illness. Abbott said local officials told him that “we have a problem with mental health, illness, in this community.”
