WASHINGTON
U.S. President Donald Trump railed against "monstrous evil" Monday after back-to-back mass shootings last weekend claimed 29 lives, and injured roughly 50 others.
The president made particular mention of the need for stronger gun laws, but offered few concrete details. He did, however, condemn white supremacy after authorities linked one of the attacks to racial hatred.
"In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy," Trump said from the White House in televised remarks. "These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.”
On Saturday in El Paso, Texas, a gunman opened fire in a Walmart retail store in what authorities are treating as a case of domestic terrorism. The suspect, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, was taken into custody after 20 people were killed and 26 others were injured.
Just minutes before the tragedy a racist essay was posted to the online 8chan website titled, “The Inconvenient Truth,” tht railed against an alleged "Hispanic invasion of Texas,” and assails "race-mixing" while pledging an imminent attack.
“I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion,” it said. "This is just the beginning of the fight for America and Europe. I am honored to head the fight to reclaim my country from destruction."
The Walmart shopping complex is located just minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border, and many of the victims were Latino, including seven Mexican nationals.
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said investigators are attributing the writing to Crusius.
About 13 hours after the tragedy unfolded another rocked Dayton, Ohio, when a body armor-clad gunman opened fire in a popular nightlife area.
He was quickly killed by police. But in the 30 or so seconds that passed after Connor Betts, 24, opened fire, nine people were killed and over two dozen others were injured. Among the deceased was Betts' sister, Megan Betts, 22.
The motive in that shooting remains unclear.
But Trump has repeatedly come under criticism for the anti-immigrant rhetoric he regularly employs. He started his 2016 White House bid by referring to Mexican migrants as rapists and murderers, and after assuming office has referred to immigrants as "invaders" and stoked alarm over a "flood" crossing the U.S.'s southern border illegally.
"The Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, just stated that 'the City is ill-prepared to handle this many migrants, the backlog could last 6 months.' Likewise, the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!" Trump wrote on Twitter last Novemner as a largely central American group of migrants fleeing poverty and rampant crime headed to the U.S.
"More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!" he tweeted in January.
As recently as June he wrote: "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving. It has been this way for decades. Either they stop the invasion of our Country by Drug Dealers, Cartels, Human Traffickers Coyotes and Illegal Immigrants, which they can do very easily, or our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs). America has had enough!"
Trump halted the tariff threat after Mexico agreed to take several measures to tighten its northern border and curb migrant flows through the country.
Following the El Paso attack, Trump came under renewed criticism for his rhetoric.
"Hypocrite. You have targeted Hispanic Americans and immigrants -- calling them 'invaders," Texas congressman Joaquin Castro said, "You inspire hate and violence."
Asked what Trump could do to make things better, congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination alongside Castro, slammed the question.
"What do you think? You know the sh** he’s been saying. He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the f**k?" O'Rourke, whose hometown is El Paso, said. "Connect the dots about what he's been doing in this country. He's not tolerating racism. He's promoting racism and violence in this country."
