Texas Governor Greg Abbott with other officials, holds a press conference to provide updates on the Uvalde elementary school shooting, at Uvalde High School in Uvalde, Texas on May 25, 2022.ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images
Critics called out Gov. Greg Abbott after his response to a recent shooting in Uvalde.
A shooting that police said involved gangs left two people injured on Thursday.
Abbott responded to the shooting stating that “gang violence has endangered the Uvalde community.”
Critics of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott laced into him for blaming a recent shooting in Uvalde on gang violence, according to CBS Austin.
Earlier this week, the shooting at Uvalde Memorial Park left two people injured, KSAT-TV reported. According to the report, police said the incident resulted from a fight between rival gang members.
The outlet reported that four people between the ages of 16-22 were charged in connection to Thursday’s shooting. Abbott released a statement in response to the incident.
“I was outraged to learn that gang violence has endangered the Uvalde community and innocent Texans this evening,” the statement said.
The governor said as a result he has directed the Department of Public Safety to conduct “patrol operations in the gang hotspots” and “begin coordinating an anti-gang effort with the city.”
The recent shooting took place about two miles from Robb Elementary, according to KSAT-TV, the location where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults in May.
But critics are calling on the Republican governor to put more firearm restrictions in place, not just focus on targeting gangs.
“In his press release, he used gangs because it’s a lot easier to put the blame on other people than to look inwards to himself and realize the blame lies solely within himself,” Nancy Thompson, founder of Mothers Against Greg Abbott told CBS Austin.
Following the Robb Elementary tragedy, parents have been on the frontlines and have been pressuring Abbott to ban AR-15-style guns, similar to the one used during the mass shooting. Last month, advocates and family members of those killed protested outside Abbott’s home, calling for him to raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21 years old, per the HuffPost.
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