Beto O'Rourke Interrupts TX Shooting News Conference: 'This Is On You'

UVALDE, TX — Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke interrupted a news conference held Wednesday by Gov. Greg Abbott in the wake of a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers.

Video of the confrontation shows O’Rourke standing at the front of the conference room before a panel of state and law enforcement officials.

“Governor Abbott, I would like to say something,” O’Rourke said. “This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had been about to speak, told O’Rourke his behavior was “out of line and an embarrassment.”

O’Rourke was quickly escorted out by officers, but as he left the room he turned around and pointed emphatically at the speakers.

“This is on you until you choose to do something,” he said.

Amid the cacophony that followed were chants of “let him speak.” One person could be heard asking, “What’s the First Amendment of the Constitution?”

SEE ALSO

• Matthew McConaughey On Texas School Shooting: 'We Must Do Better'
• Salvador Ramos' Facebook Post Warned Of Texas School Shooting: Abbott
• Texas School Shooting: Gunman Killed 19 Kids, 2 Teachers In Same Class
• After Texas School Shooting, Police More Visible At America's Schools

"There's no words that anybody shouting can come up here and do anything to heal those broken hearts," Abbott said following O'Rourke's outburst.

"We all — every Texan, every American has a responsibility where we need to focus not on ourselves and our agendas, we need to focus on the healing and hope that we can provide to those who have suffered unconscionable damage to their lives and loss of life."

Patrick weighed in as well.

"This is not a partisan issue, this is not a political issue," he said. "This is an unimaginable moment that will impact the lives of those who lost their children and those who survived."

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School, Democrat O’Rourke has criticized Republican Abbott and the state’s lax gun laws, including the ability to carry without a permit.

“The moment to stop Uvalde was right after Sandy Hook,” he said in a tweet Tuesday. “After Santa Fe High. After El Paso. Instead, Abbott made it easier to carry guns in public. The moment to stop the next slaughter is right now.”

O’Rourke has also called on Abbott to withdraw from a National Rifle Association convention at which he was scheduled to speak this weekend in Houston.

The shooter, identified by Abbott as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, recently bought two rifles from a local licensed seller, one May 17 and one May 20, along with 375 rounds of ammunition May 18, according to authorities.

The shooting has renewed talk of enacting gun control legislation, specifically for the Senate to vote on H.R. 8. The bill, which has passed the House, would prohibit most private transfers of firearms unless a licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer facilitates the deal in order to perform background checks.