Trump deletes tweet that appeared to reference wrong mass shooting
Hours after a shooting spree in Northern California left five people dead, President Trump tweeted his condolences — about the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, earlier this month.
“May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas,” Trump tweeted late Tuesday. “The FBI and Law Enforcement has arrived.”
The tweet was deleted on Wednesday morning, but not before the president was widely mocked for appearing to offer his condolences about the wrong mass shooting.
Trump just tweeted about the wrong mass shooting… pic.twitter.com/tfgXp1TTMh
— Rantt News (@RanttNews) November 15, 2017
Did u just copy & paste this & forget to change the city?
— Name cannot be blank (@cadillaccannon) November 15, 2017
For god's sake, we had a TOTALLY DIFFERENT mass shooting today, in Northern California. Can you make an effort to keep up with the carnage #ThoughtsAndPrayers, please?
Also: *have* arrived
— Kristi (@vbosch) November 15, 2017
This tweet was sent 2 hours ago.
The shooting in Sutherland Springs happened on November 5th, which was 9 days ago.I hope the FBI and law enforcement didn’t take that long to arrive. https://t.co/8bYtCg0iuO
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) November 15, 2017
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump rarely deletes his freewheeling tweets, though sometimes he deletes and fixes the posts with typos.
Trump had already tweeted his support for the people of Sutherland Springs from Japan, a stop on his 12-day trip to Asia.
“May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas,” he wrote on Nov. 5. “The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.”
May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2017
The same day, 26 people were killed and dozens more were injured in the shootings at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs. The shootings Trump may have meant to refer to — in Rancho Tehama Reserve, Calif. — left five dead and 10 others, including two children, wounded after a gunman opened fire outside an elementary school on Wednesday morning and continued his rampage on the streets of the small community before he was killed by police.
Earlier Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a message of support for the Northern California shooting victims.
Saddened to hear of the shooting in N. California, the loss of life & injuries, including innocent children. We commend the effort of courageous law enforcement. We'll continue to monitor the situation & provide federal support, as we pray for comfort & healing for all impacted
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) November 14, 2017
“Saddened to hear of the shooting in N. California, the loss of life & injuries, including innocent children,” Pence wrote. “We commend the effort of courageous law enforcement. We’ll continue to monitor the situation & provide federal support, as we pray for comfort & healing for all impacted.”
(Cover tile photo: Yahoo News photo illustration; photos: Jorge Silva/AFP/Getty Images, Donald J. Trump via Twitter)
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