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Holcomb Urges People To Be Vigilant, Dodges Questions About Trump After Mass Shootings

Gov. Eric Holcomb dodged questions about the role President Donald Trump’s rhetoric may have played in recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
Brandon Smith/IPB News
Gov. Eric Holcomb dodged questions about the role President Donald Trump’s rhetoric may have played in recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Gov. Eric Holcomb urged people who see something to say something in the wake of this weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

But Holcomb dodged questions about the role President Donald Trump’s rhetoric may have played in the shootings.

The governor says it will take partnerships between local, state and federal law enforcement to help prevent mass shootings.

“And we need to be ever vigilant; we need to be aware," Holcomb says. "You need to share what you hear if you’re concerned about someone’s behavior.”

The El Paso shooting suspect’s racist screed, posted online before the shooting, used language similar to that regularly espoused by President Trump. But Holcomb sidestepped questions about whether Trump is part of the problem.

“Anyone that claims to have a simple solution to a very complex behavioral problem is simply misleading you,” Holcomb says.

Holcomb touted Indiana’s red flag law, where police can take a person’s guns if they appear to pose a threat to themselves or others.

Brandon Smith was the Statehouse reporter for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He also hosted Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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