© 2024 WFAE
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Reactions From The Carolinas To Deadly U.S. Mass Shootings

Elected officials and others from across the Carolinas have been offering their reactions to this weekend’s deadly mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.

First, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso on Saturday morning, killing 21 people and wounding 25 others before being arrested by police. Then, early Sunday, a gunman fired dozens of rounds into a busy street in Dayton, killing nine people and injuring at least 27 before being shot and killed by police.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted, “We in North Carolina stand with the people of El Paso as they endure this heartbreaking pain.” Later, following the Dayton shooting, he tweeted “We are shocked and heartbroken all over again” and “Common sense changes are needed now.”

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said the city "stands with the residents of El Paso and Dayton."

"We ask why and we seek truth," she tweeted and called on people to "stop ignoring the hate speech."

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina called the shootings “acts of pure evil." North Carolina's other U.S. senator, Thom Tillis, said he was heartbroken by the shootings and called them “acts of hate and domestic terrorism targeting our fellow Americans.”

U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina's 12th Congressional District, which includes most of Charlotte, released a statement saying, “We cannot allow this to become our new normal. Congress must keep working to end the epidemic of gun violence that plagues our nation.” 

South Carolina 5th District U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman tweeted, “I grieve for the families and communities who lost loved ones” and also, “We need to call out these acts for what they are: Terrorism.”

And U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted it’s, “Time to enact common-sense legislation in Congress to empower states to deal with those who present a danger to themselves and others — while respecting robust due process.”

Drew Pescaro, one of the survivors of a mass shooting at UNC Charlotte earlier this year, said that he hoped he can "work towards developing laws to prevent this for others."

"Why do people keep gunning our own people down," Pescaro tweeted. "When are people gonna unite and stand up to this crap. Why do cowards keep getting to carry out these actions. I just hurt for these people and communities so much and I'm furious."