A Republican senator responded to the latest mass shooting in New York City by arguing the country already has more than enough gun controls—and the government should focus its energy on curbing people’s stupidity.
Top MAGA lawmaker John Kennedy spoke with Fox News Monday night in the aftermath of the deadly shooting in Midtown Manhattan in which a gunman with an assault rifle shot dead four people, including a police officer, before turning the gun on himself.
“On Capitol Hill, probably beginning in the morning, there’ll be the inevitable call by some of my colleagues for more gun control laws,” the Louisiana senator told host Sean Hannity. “We’ve got hundreds of gun control laws, Sean. Maybe thousands.”
“We don’t need more gun control. We need more idiot control,” he added.
Police have identified the suspect in the killings as 27-year-old Shane Tamura, who is said to have pulled up in a a black BMW, wearing a black bulletproof vest and carrying an M4 rifle, before entering the building at 345 Park Avenue, which houses companies including the National Football League, global investment firm Blackstone, and accounting firm KPMG.
Inside, the gunman immediately opened fire, killing police officer Didarul Islam. A 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh, whose wife was pregnant with their third child, Islam was described as a “hero” by colleagues and as a model member of the Bronx’s Muslim community by friends.
The suspect then shot and killed a woman hiding in the lobby, a security guard by the elevators, and a third man. He took an elevator up to the 33rd floor where he killed another woman, before fatally turning the gun on himself.
Tamura was a resident of Las Vegas, with a documented history of mental health issues, but authorities have not yet issued a statement on his possible motives. A note reportedly discovered at the scene suggests he may have been driven by anger and disillusionment over football-related brain injuries.
In his Monday night appearance on Fox News, Kennedy conceded he was not entirely clear on the shape his proposed “idiot controls” ought to take. “I don’t know exactly how to do that,” he admitted. “But I do know this: I don’t want to hear anyone feeling sorry for this guy who did this.”
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