Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called on Congress to “get off its ass and do something” to prevent further mass shootings after a gunman took the lives of at least 50 people in the deadliest shooting in American history Sunday night.
Murphy advocated strongly for gun control measures after a shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 in his state took the lives of 20 children and six adult staff.
“This must stop,” Murphy said in a statement. “It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference.”
In a tweet, Murphy said his “heart with with Las Vegas this morning.”
Not again. My heart is with Las Vegas this morning. Sending prayers to the victims and their families. #LasVegas
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 2, 2017
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Monday morning that the suspected shooter — 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, a white male from Mesquite, Nevada — took his own life before police forcibly entered his 32nd floor hotel room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Paddock allegedly killed more than 50 people, making the shooting the deadliest in American history.
Read Murphy’s full statement below:
“My heart goes out to the victims, their families, the first responders, and the entire Las Vegas community. Nowhere but America do horrific large-scale mass shootings happen with this degree of regularity. Last night’s massacre may go down as the deadliest in our nation’s history, but already this year there have been more mass shootings than days in the year.
“This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”
