Mainstream media outlets started to backtrack on Friday after reporting that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) had called school shootings a “fact of life” without providing proper context. The Associated Press was the first to apologize, deleting its original post and clarifying that the Republican was not, in fact, dismissing the issue, especially in light of a deadly shooting in Georgia just one day earlier.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, former President Donald Trump’s running mate expressed sorrow over the recent attack that killed four people and critically injured nine others. The 14-year-old student involved, along with his father, has been charged. The AP story includes Vance’s full statement, where he emphasized that America must be “prepared” to address the issue of “psychos” who are willing to commit violence in schools. “We don’t have to like the reality that we live in, but it is the reality we live in. We’ve got to deal with it,” he added before he was asked by assembled media what solutions he would offer as vice president.
“I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance said at one point. “But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools. We’ve got to bolster security, so if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children, they’re not able.” After the story was posted on X, users quickly added a community note referencing Vance’s quote in full rather than partial, suggesting he is indifferent to the crisis. “This post replaces an earlier post that was deleted to add context to the partial quote from Vance,” the AP’s account clarified.
The AP just deleted this tweet to avoid getting slammed by community notes, but let’s be clear about what just happened here…
JD Vance told reporters that he doesn’t like that there are psychotic maniacs who shoot up schools, and that we should respond by improving security to… pic.twitter.com/TY5mzQzho1
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 6, 2024
Following the shooting, Vice President Harris emphasized that addressing such a “senseless tragedy” requires action from lawmakers. “We’ve got to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” she stated, according to NewsNation. In contrast, President Trump honored the victims and their families in his statement, labeling the teenage shooter a “sick and deranged monster.” Trump supports red flag laws, which allow individuals to petition a court to have a dangerous person’s weapons confiscated if they are deemed a threat. Both Trump and Sen. Vance have advocated for “hardening” schools through measures such as armed guards and, potentially, teachers. At the Phoenix rally, Vance said he does not like that schools have to be hardened, “but that’s increasingly the reality that we live in.”
On Thursday, Georgia authorities charged Colin Gray, 54, the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, with second-degree manslaughter for allegedly giving his son access to firearms for hunting. Last year, the FBI interviewed Colt Gray as part of an investigation into an anonymous threat posted on Discord regarding a potential school shooting. However, conflicting evidence about the origin of the post resulted in no action being taken against the teen.
