Gov. Abbott addresses Allen outlet mall shooting at news conference in Austin
AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott briefly addressed the Allen Premium Outlets shooting at a news conference Monday morning at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.
CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink was at the news conference, which was originally scheduled to address border security ahead of the end of Title 42.
Fink asked the governor what he says to Texans who are fed up with mass shootings, and who say the state is not doing enough to keep AR-style weapons out of the hands of the hands of the perpetrators.
Abbott noted that he met with victims' families on Sunday night, as well as law enforcement and local leaders.
"One thing I know, the people of Allen but especially the families, they want to know right now why this happened, how it happened, and the investigators were unable to provide specifics at that time," Abbott said.
"The first step to leading to some type of resolution here, as well as providing information about the response needed from the state of Texas, is to know exactly why and how this happened. I believe in the coming days the public will be much better informed about why and how this happened, and that will inform us as Texas leaders about next steps to take to try and prevent crimes like this from taking place in the future," Abbott said.
#NEW In Austin, Texas National Guard troops to soon board transport plane to the border. 7am briefing by @GregAbbott_TX & @TxDPS Dir. We’ll ask about the mass shooting in Allen. My story about the status of gun safety bills at the Capitol: https://t.co/T92j6ADORf @CBSNewsTexas pic.twitter.com/F8TajN7Fx4
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) May 8, 2023
There is no word yet on what impact, if any, the shooting will have on the final weeks of the Texas Legislature. The Republican majorities in both the Texas House and Senate don't support increasing gun restrictions in Texas.
State Sens. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio) and Sarah Eckhardt (D-Austin) plan to hold a news conference of their own later Monday morning, renewing their calls for action on gun safety legislation.