President Donald Trump faced criticism after he appeared to have copied a tweet shared after a mass shooting earlier this month at a Texas church in the wake of an attack Tuesday that left five people dead and 10 injured in Northern California.
"May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas," Trump tweeted Tuesday evening, according to Newsweek. "The FBI and Law Enforcement has arrived."
The tweet came nearly 10 days after authorities said Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, opened fire on people gathered for Sunday service at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, killing 26 people and wounding 20 others.
It came on the same day that a man killed five people and injured 10 others in attacks in Tehama County, California.
After the attack in Texas, Trump tweeted a nearly identical message to the one shared Tuesday, writing, “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.”
Twitter users accused Trump of copying and pasting his condolences and forgetting to change the location of the attack.
Huckabee Sanders later: Sutherland Springs, Texas is what President Trump calls Northern California. It’s a regional dialect. pic.twitter.com/tPw0gY36yI
— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) November 15, 2017
Did u just copy & paste this & forget to change the city?
— Joseph Michael Cannon (@cadillaccannon) November 15, 2017
1. We have too many mass shootings. ONE is too many.
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 15, 2017
2. That's no excuse for a POTUS confusing them. Carelessness is callousness.
3. Trump's done nothing to address root causes. His presence exacerbates the crisis.
Trump’s tweet was subsequently deleted.
Authorities said officers shot and killed Kevin Janson Neal, 43, Tuesday after he fired shots in at least seven locations in Tehama County, including an elementary school. Five people were killed in the attack, including two of Neal’s neighbors and his wife.
Trending headlines
- Search suspended for snowboarders missing near Mt. Baker
- One killed in crash that closed West Valley Highway
- Killer escapes Hawaii psychiatric hospital, flies to California, disappears
- Twin killed when tree hit car near Renton, sister and daughter survive
- School district suspends woman's service dog handler privileges
Cox Media Group