Former US President Donald Trump stressed that “the presence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens, but one of the most important reasons to arm them” after the Texas school massacre.

“The various gun control policies promoted by the left would do nothing to prevent a terrible incident, absolutely nothing,” he said in a speech at the National Rifle Congress in Houston, Texas. He named all the children who were killed, describing them as victims of an out-of-control “crazy” man, before returning to point out that the gun acquisition control efforts are “strange”.

“We must all come together, Republicans and Democrats, to strengthen our schools and protect our children. What we need now is a comprehensive safety reform in schools across the country,” Trump said. He believed that “the time has come, as part of a comprehensive school safety plan, for trained teachers to be allowed to discreetly carry weapons.”

On May 24, a young man reportedly opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Yuvaldi Elementary School in Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers.