Donald Trump on gun control: We're looking at a lot of different things
Reacting to the latest mass shooting, the US president says work with Congress on potential measures is ongoing.
Sunday 1 September 2019 19:32, UK
Donald Trump has said he is speaking with Republicans and Democrats about possible legislation on guns in the wake of another mass shooting.
The US president told reporters that the latest shooting in Texas had not changed ongoing efforts to prepare a legislative package on guns.
Mr Trump also said he did not think background checks on those buying guns would have prevented recent shootings, adding: "They would not have stopped any of it."
He said: "We're looking at a lot of different things. We're looking at a lot of different bills, ideas, concepts. It's been going on for a long while."
The president added: "We're in the process of dealing with Democrats, Republicans, they've been working very hard on it.
"They're coming back very soon, there's a big package of things that's going to be put before them by a lot of different people, a lot of different groups working on it."
He was speaking after a man stopped by state troopers in Texas for failing to indicate for a left turn went on a shooting rampage that left seven dead and more than 20 others injured.
The gunman, who has not been named, fired at random as he drove around Odessa and Midland, before being killed outside a cinema.
In a tweet earlier, the president praised the police response to the incident.
He said: "Great job by Texas Law Enforcement and First Responders in handling the terrible shooting tragedy yesterday. Thank you also to the FBI, @GregAbbott_TX and all others. A very tough and sad situation!"
The number of mass killings in the US so far this year stands at 25, the same number as the whole of 2018.
The latest shooting comes a matter of weeks after another mass shooting in Texas, when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in the border city of El Paso.
Speaking after Saturday's incident, vice president Mike Pence said the Trump administration remained "absolutely determined" to work with leaders in both parties in Congress to take action to "address and confront this scourge of mass atrocities in our country".
Mr Pence said the president had spoken with the attorney general and that the FBI was helping local police.
Mr Trump has issued contradictory messages in the wake of recent mass shootings.
He said he was eager to implement "very meaningful background checks" on guns in the wake of the El Paso shooting, adding that there was "tremendous support" for action.
But the president later backtracked, saying the current system was "very, very strong".
More recently, Mr Trump has called for more attention to be placed on mental health, arguing that new facilities are needed for the mentally ill as a way to reduce mass shootings.
Some mental health professionals have voiced concerns with such an approach, arguing that such thinking is outdated, that linking mental health to violence is wrong, and that more treatment would have a minimal impact on gun violence.