Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is facing backlash for what critics say was his effort to "dehumanize" the victims of a mass shooting in his home state over the weekend.
In a tweet on Sunday announcing a $50,000 reward for the at-large suspect, Abbott called the five victims of Friday's attack "illegal immigrants," leaving many on social media to question why he used language they consider dehumanizing toward immigrants. The AP Stylebook deems the term "not precise."
Later in the statement, Abbott said, "Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the five victims that were taken in this senseless act of violence."
The victims of the brutal attack in Cleveland, Texas, were identified by authorities as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velázquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18; and Daniel Enrique Laso Guzman, 9. All are originally from Honduras, police said.
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Police say the suspect — still at large — used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack, which began late Friday, to kill the five family members. Two of the female victims were discovered in the bedroom lying on top of two surviving children, authorities told ABC News. Three minors in total were found uninjured but covered in blood.
Reacting to Abbott's tweet late Sunday, Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said he showed "a disgusting lack of compassion and humanity."
Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference, May 27, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, FILE
"If loosening gun laws actually made us safer, Texas would have one of the best records in the country on gun violence," she said in another tweet. "In this country so awash with firearms, you can't go to grocery stores, church, schools, or even your neighbor's house now without fear. It's the guns."
Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde — where one year ago this month, a gunman killed 19 fourth graders and two of their teachers — called Abbott's framing a "new low."
"Greg, how was an undocumented person able to obtain an AR-15 in the first place? I'll tell you why. It's because you and other Republicans have made safe gun laws nonexistent," Gutierrez tweeted.
MORE: 'No one took leadership': A detailed look at the failings in Uvalde school shooting
The Hispanic Congressional Caucus also weighed in, accusing the governor of trying to "dehumanize & delegitimize the lives of those killed in this horrific attack."
Charlie Sykes, a conservative commentator and editor-in-chief of the website The Bulwark, called it "extraordinary" that Abbott "felt the need to do that."
"This cried out for a little bit of compassion, for some leadership. Of course, we got neither of those," he said Monday on MSNBC.
"Star Trek" Actor George Takei, who was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp for a year and a half, was one of the first on the chorus of critics to call Abbott's response "despicable."
"I would have thought bringing up the immigration status of the innocent victims of this senseless violence would be beneath even you. But I was wrong," he tweeted.
Mass shooting survivor Wilson Garcia looks up to the sky during a vigil for his son Daniel Enrique Laso, 9, April 30, 2023, in Cleveland, Texas.David J. Phillip/AP
Meanwhile, the manhunt for suspected gunman Francisco Oropesa, 38, is still underway.
Investigators said carnage at his hands began Friday night after neighbors asked him to stop shooting his gun in the yard of his home in Cleveland, Texas, about 50 miles north of Houston. When deputies arrived at the home, they found five victims at the property, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters on Sunday. Abbott also said in his tweet that Oropesa is "in the country illegally."
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ABC News has reached out to Abbott's office for comment on the backlash.
The gruesome, mass shooting follows a series of attacks gun safety advocates argue illustrate the need for stricter gun laws across the country.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
