California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately criticized the Republican controlled Congress after a deadly mass shooting at a mall in suburban Dallas, Texas killed at least 8 and injured 7 others on Saturday afternoon, slamming Congress for not passing gun control reform.
“This is freedom?? To be shot at a mall? Shot at school? Shot at church? Shot at the movies?” the Democrat governor wrote in a Twitter post shortly after police confirmed the causalities. “We have become a nation that is more focused on the right to kill than the right to live.”
Police chief Brian Harvey said during an evening presser that on Saturday, May 6 a police officer was on an unrelated call nearby when gunshots erupted at Allen Premium Outlets at 3:36 p.m. The officer “engaged the suspect and neutralized the threat,” police said. A law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that the suspected shooter is dead and that they believe he acted alone.
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Nine people died in total, including the suspected shooter – seven were found dead at the scene, and two other later succumbed to their injuries after being transported to the hospital.
The two term governor has previously called out Republicans for inaction on the issue of gun control, doubling down on the need for federal gun control reform.
“This is not what the American people want,” Gov. Newsom continued.
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According to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University, 2023 is shaping up to the most mass shootings since the database began it’s tracking in 2006. There has been 22 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2023, not including the shooting at the Texas mall on May 6.
“Do your d*mn job, Congress,” Newsom said.
An hour following the governors initial post, he slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott for cutting mental health funding.
“This is your reminder that @GregAbbott_TX cut $211 million in mental health funding,” Newsom wrote.
In April, Abbott announced he would be moving $465.3 million from state agencies to, “support border operations.” Of that amount, $210.7 million was from Texas Health & Human Services, which oversees public mental health programs.
In response to what the Republican governor has described as the federal government’s inaction on border security, the governor has launched several initiatives aimed at addressing the border crisis as illegal migrants continue to stream across the southern border.
Governor Newsom and Governor Abbott’s offices did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
