President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md. and then on to Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
October 03, 2017 - 5:42 AM
WASHINGTON - The Latest on President Donald Trump and the Las Vegas shooting (all times local):
8:38 a.m.
President Donald Trump is calling the man who killed 59 people and wounded hundreds others at a music festival in Las Vegas a "very, very sick individual."
Trump spoke to reporters Tuesday as he departed for a trip to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. He called the gunman "demented" and said "we're looking into him very seriously."
Trump also praised Las Vegas police, saying they had done an "incredible job."
Trump stressed that the shooting was a tragedy. Asked about gun laws, the president said "we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by."
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4:01 a.m.
President Donald Trump has condemned the mass shooting in Las Vegas — in which at least 59 people were shot dead — as an "act of pure evil" and declared the nation would unite behind the survivors, but he refused to get into a new debate over gun control.
Trump spoke slowly and carefully Monday morning from the White House Diplomatic Room, focusing not on the identity or possible motive of the gunman but on the nation's efforts to heal.
The remarks were the prelude to a two-part test of whether Trump, a leader who excels at political provocation, can also deliver solace. Trump is slated to visit Puerto Rico Tuesday to survey devastation from Hurricane Maria, before going to Las Vegas Wednesday to meet with families of the dead.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017