The White House is once again calling for Congress to act on gun control after a mass shooting in Allen, Texas, over the weekend.
“Today is Monday, May 8, that means it is the 128th day of 2023 and yesterday we witnessed the 201st mass shootings in this country this year,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
“This is a crisis. It is a crisis that the Republicans in Congress are refusing to address,” she added.
Jean-Pierre listed places where there have been mass shootings, including schools, shopping malls and churches. She said enacting gun control legislation is “about protecting our everyday life” as she called on Congress to take action.
The White House has implied in the past that President Joe Biden has reached the limit on how much he can act on gun control measures through executive order.
Asked if the president had been briefed on reports that the shooter may have been motivated by right-wing extremism and white supremacist rhetoric, Jean-Pierre declined to weigh in on the specific case.
“Broadly speaking, as it relates to the right-wing organization that he was connected to, or has been reported to be connected to, we have spoken out consistently about the concerning rise in hate-fueled violence in this country,” she said. “The president has talked about this in great length including in discussing how we need to restore the soul of this nation.”
Some context: Authorities have not announced a motive for why the gunman, 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia, opened fire at Allen Premium Outlets. Garcia, who was killed at the scene by an Allen police officer who was on a nearby call, was wearing an insignia that authorities believe may be associated with extremist groups, a senior law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
Investigators have unearthed an extensive social media presence, including neo-Nazi and White supremacist-related posts and images that authorities believe Garcia shared online, according to the source.
