President Trump called on Americans to “stand strong” in the wake of the deadly shooting rampage at a small Texas church Sunday.
“All Americans pray to God to help the wounded and the families of the victims,” said the president. “We will never ever leave their side.”
Mr. Trump, in the midsts of a visit to Japan, called the shooting “horrific.”
A gunman open fired on the service Sunday morning at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, killing at least 26 people. He was later found dead in his car. Authorities were unsure if he committed suicide or was killed by a citizen who intervened.
No motive has been given.
Mr. Trump expressed dismay that the bloodshed occurred in a “place of sacred worship,” adding that “pain and grief we all feel cannot begin to imagine the suffering of those” who lost loved ones.
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“Americans will do what we do best: we pull together and join hands and lock arms and through the tears and sadness we stand strong,” he said at the top of a speech to U.S. and Japanese business leaders at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Tokyo.
The president also praised first responders in Texas and pledged that the administration would provide all the support necessary to local authorities.
Mr. Trump is in Japan at the start of a 12-day trip to Asia.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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