President Trump said Tuesday that his administration will weigh new gun laws in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, as he praised police for the “miracle” of their quick response to the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“We have a tragedy,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.”
Asked about legislation on gun silencers, Mr. Trump replied, “We’ll talk about that later.”
Mr. Trump has consistently spoken out for Second Amendment rights as a candidate.
The president emphasized “the incredible job” done by Las Vegas police in the attack by a lone gunman that claimed at least 59 lives at an outdoor concert.
“How quickly the police department was able to get in was really very much of a miracle,” Mr. Trump said. “They’ve done an amazing job.”
SEE ALSO: Las Vegas shooting: More than 59 dead, 527 wounded after man fires on outdoor concert
He called the gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, “a sick man, a demented man.” Paddock killed himself in his hotel room as police closed in.
He had “a lot of problems, I guess,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re looking into him very, very seriously. But we’re dealing with a very very sick individual.”
Mr. Trump will visit Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with families of victims, first responders and police.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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