Texas AG: Texans can use concealed-carry laws to stop mass shootings

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said Sunday that the state’s concealed-carry law could help Texans confronted with mass shooters like the one at the church in Sutherland Springs.

Paxton said on Fox News that the mass shooting at a church in Texas “breaks my heart,” especially after reports that children were killed in the attack.

{mosads}“As far as what we can do in the future, I mean, the only thing I know — because you can’t necessarily keep guns out of the hands of people who are going to violate the law. If somebody’s willing to kill someone they’re also going to be willing to violate a gun law,” Paxton said.

“All I can say is that in Texas at least we have the opportunity to have concealed carry. And so if it’s a place where somebody has the ability to carry, there’s always the opportunity that gunman will be taken out before he has the opportunity to kill very many people.”

Texas residents can apply for a license to carry a gun, which includes the right to carry a concealed weapon.

Paxton’s comments came in the hours after a mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said at a press conference Sunday that 26 people had been killed in the shooting but that the number could rise.

Multiple news organizations identified the shooter as Devin Kelley. He was reportedly killed after a brief car chase with law enforcement following the shooting.