Trump: Las Vegas Shooter 'Sick' And 'Demented Man'
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the suspected gunman who killed 59 people and wounded hundreds others at a music festival in Las Vegas "a very, very sick individual."
Trump spoke to reporters as he departed for a trip to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. He called the gunman "a demented man" and said "we're looking into him very seriously."
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Trump also praised Las Vegas police, saying they had done an "incredible job."
Asked about gun laws, the president said "we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by."
Trump has labeled the Sunday night shooting as an "act of pure evil" and declared the nation would unite behind the survivors.
"Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence," the president said Monday. "We call upon the bonds that unite us: our faith, our family, and our shared values. We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity."
Trump spoke hours after police said 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of a Vegas Strip casino on people at an outdoor country music festival below.
Paddock killed himself in the hotel room before authorities arrived. It's not clear what motivated the shooting, although his actions suggest that he had planned the attacks for at least a period of days.
The president said he will visit Las Vegas on Wednesday.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)