Donald Trump said Tuesday in South Korea that a Texas mass-shooter would have claimed ‘hundreds’ of additional lives on Sunday if an armed citizen hadn’t intervened.
Trump defended Stephen Willeford, a heroic Texan who chased down Devin Patrick Kelley and shot him as he attempted to flee after killing 26 people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas
The president faced a question about gun control from a reporter who demanded to know if he would consider applying his tough-on-immigration ‘extreme vetting’ policy to gun purchasers.
Donald Trump was asked whether he would be applying ‘extreme vetting’ procedures used on immigrants to gun purchases after the mass shooting in Texas
The President said the policy would have made ‘no difference’ to the outcome, and may have taken a gun out of the hands of Stephen Willeford, who shot killer Devin Patrick Kelley
Trump took the question as he spoke alongside Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president, in Seoul during his tour across Asia
Quick-thinking: Stephen Willeford and Johnnie Langendorff (right) have been praised as heroes after they were able to stop Texas gunman Devin Kelley’s rampage
‘If you did what you’re suggesting, there would have been no difference three days ago,’ Trump replied.
‘And you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him and hit him and neutralize him.’
‘And I can only say this,’ Trump added: ‘If he didn’t have a gun, instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead.’
Kelley bought his Ruger AR-15 rifle after passing a background check, despite having been court-martialled for domestic violence in 2012 – the result of which was a ban on ownership of firearms.
The U.S. Air Force said Monday that it was investigating its own failure to enter information about the court martial into a national database.
The president was visibly annoyed on Tuesday at having to face a gun control question for the second straight day as he traveled in Asia.
On Monday he told reporters in Tokyo that Sunday’s deadly mass-shooting in Texas was the product of mental illness.
A day later in Seoul, South Korea, the White House press corps hadn’t had enough, with an NBC reporter asking him if he would implement ‘extreme vetting’ for Americans trying to buy guns.
‘Trying to what?’ Trump asked, surprised that he wasn’t asked a foreign policy question.
‘Buy a gun,’ the reporter repeated.
Langendorff and Willeford at the vigil for the victims of the shooting at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs
The two embrace in an emotional hug during the vigil to remember the shooter’s 26 victims
Devin Patrick Kelley (pictured left, and in a mugshot from a previous crime) walked into First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, dressed in full combat gear, and began shooting
‘We could let a little time go by,’ Trump said, referring to the still-grieving Texas community.
‘But it’s okay if you feel that that’s an appropriate question, even though we’re in the heart of South Korea.’
Trump had arrived in Seoul just hours earlier, on a dual mission of negotiating for trade and neutralizing the global threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear missile ambitions.
Tuesday’s press conference was originally scheduled as a ‘joint statement’ from Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in – a pair of brief speeches with no questions from reporters.
That changed in the hour before the event began.
The result had Trump arguing gun policy nearly 7,000 miles from home, and raising the specter of an American city where there were 4,331 shootings last year – 762 of them fatal.
‘The city with the strongest gun laws in our nation is Chicago,’ Trump said.
‘And Chicago is a disaster. It’s a total disaster.’
11 mile chase: Devin Patrick Kelley was confronted outside First Baptist Church after killing 26 people where he was shot by Stephen Willeford; he then fled in an SUV, where Willeford and Johnnie Langendorff pursued him. After an 11-mile, 95mph chase, he crashed and died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head
The shooting happened at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs (pictured), where around 50 people usually attend service; Kelley killed 26