Donald Trump on Las Vegas shooting: 'An act of pure evil'

WASHINGTON — The mass shooting that left dozens dead and hundreds more wounded as they took in an outdoor concert in Las Vegas was “an act of pure evil,” President Donald Trump said Monday in a unifying message to a reeling nation.

“My fellow Americans, we are joined together today in sadness, shock and grief,” he said from the White House.

He called for resilience.

“Our unity cannot be shattered by evil. Our bonds cannot be broken by violence,” the president said. “And though we feel such great anger at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today — and always will, forever.”

Trump announced that he will visit Las Vegas on Wednesday to meet with the families of the many victims and first responders who acted quickly to prevent further loss of life.

Later on the South Lawn, the president and first lady Melania Trump, heads bowed, led a moment of silence.

A gunman on Sunday night rained bullets from the 32nd-floor window of a casino-hotel on a crowd of country music festival attendees. The death toll had climbed to 59 and the number of wounded to 527 as of Monday evening, authorities said.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“We pray for the day when evil is banished, and the innocent are safe from hatred and from fear,” Trump said.

Democratic lawmakers and activists, including shooting survivor and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, renewed calls for tighter gun control. It is not thoughts and prayers, but legislative action that will prevent future violence, they said.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted that Trump is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and argued that strict gun laws in Chicago have not curbed crime there, she said policy discussions should be saved for later. “There’s a time and place for a political debate, but now is the time to unite as a country,” she told reporters.

Before he visits Las Vegas on Wednesday, Trump will first tour hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

“It’s been amazing what’s been done in a very short period of time,” he told reporters Monday of the recovery effort.

Local officials, most visibly San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, have criticized the federal government for painting a rosy picture as residents struggle amid shortages of power, food and drinking water.

Trump in turn took shots at unspecified “politically motivated ingrates” and people who “want everything done for them.”

At the Capitol on Monday, flags were lowered to half-staff at the orders of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

New York lawmakers expressed their condolences and applauded brave civilians and first responders in Las Vegas.

“I hope this domestic terrorist rots in hell for destroying so many lives,” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) tweeted.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), amid his messages of mourning, tweeted, “We will have to reckon with the fact that this man was able to assemble an arsenal of military-grade weapons.”

Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) also issued a call to act.

“We can’t prevent every mass shooting in America, but we know without a doubt that we can prevent some,” she said. “The question is whether we care enough to try.”