Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio called for increased security in schools following the school shootings in Georgia this week.
“If these psychopaths are going to target our children, we have to be prepared for that,” Vance said at a rally in Phoenix. “You don't have to like the reality we live in, but it's the reality we live in, and we have to deal with it.”
His comments came in response to a reporter's question about what can be done to stop school shootings. The Ohio Republican argued that restricting access to guns would not prevent them. According to the Associated Press.
“I hate that this is real,” Vance told the news agency, “but if you're a psychopath and you want to make headlines, you realize that schools are an ideal target. We need to beef up security in our schools. We need to beef up security so that if a psychopath wants to come in through the front door and kill kids, he can't.”
The remarks came a day after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday left four people dead and injured several more. The suspect, 14-year-old Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of felony murder.
Governor Vance described the shooting as a “terrible tragedy” and asked for prayers for Winder's family.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about the shooting in an unscheduled speech on Wednesday, calling it a “senseless tragedy.” She said the country must end the epidemic of gun violence “for good.”
Harris heads the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and is an advocate of stricter gun control.
The Associated Press contributed.
