Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Texas Shooting Was 'Mental Health' Problem Not A 'Guns Situation,' Trump Says
President Trump declared that the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex. that left at least 26 people dead was not 鈥渁 guns situation,鈥 saying instead he believed that 鈥渕ental health鈥 was the problem. Trump鈥檚 comments came at a news conference in Tokyo, when he was asked about the shooting at a South Texas church and if stricter gun laws were the answer. (Parker, 11/6)
鈥淭his is a mental health problem at the highest level,鈥 the president said during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinz艒 Abe when asked what policies he would propose in response to the tragedy. 鈥淭his was a very deranged individual,鈥 Trump said, adding, 鈥淲e have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries. This isn鈥檛 a guns situation.鈥 (Restuccia, 11/6)
The rate of gun deaths in the United States rose in 2016 to about 12 per 100,000 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report released on Friday. That was up from a rate of about 11 for every 100,000 people in 2015, and it reflected the second consecutive year that the mortality rate in that category rose in the United States. (Hauser, 11/4)