Anthony Jackson, El Paso TimesMay 26, 2022, 1:37 PM·5 min readIn this article:

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• Greg Abbott48th governor of Texas since 2015

Beto O'Rourke said he sat in the auditorium Wednesday at Uvalde High School intent on just listening as Gov. Greg Abbott spoke about the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.

Abbott, joined on the stage by the state's top GOP political leaders, explained what happened when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday, May 24.

After Abbott paused at the end of his 19-minute update, O'Rourke stood up and walked to the stage. He said he felt compelled to confront Abbott because he didn't acknowledge why the shooting happened.

"You said this is not predictable," O'Rourke said. "This is totally predictable when you choose not to do anything. ... I'm standing up for the people of the state to stop this from happening again."

O'Rourke was escorted out of the auditorium, but on his way out, he paused again to address Abbott.

"This is on you until you choose to do something different," said O'Rourke, a Democrat who is challenging Abbott in the November election. "This will continue to happen."

The mayor of Uvalde angrily shouted for O'Rourke to leave, even as people in the audience chanted, "Let him speak."

In an interview late Wednesday evening, after meeting with the family of one of the children killed, O'Rourke doubled down on his claim that Abbott refuses to do anything meaningful to reduce mass shootings in Texas.

"The governor today said that this was totally unpredictable," O'Rourke said. "This is the most predictable event in Texas. I can predict this will continue to happen. It'll be some other school, some other Walmart, some other movie theaters, some other church, in some other city until we decide that we've had enough."

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Six mass shootings have occurred in Texas since Abbott was elected governor in 2014. Over 90 Texans, including schoolchildren and people shopping at a grocery store or attending Sunday service, have been killed in mass shootings. Scores have been wounded in the attacks.

(editor：)