Beto O'Rourke on El Paso shooting: 'It just crushed me'

[TexasTowelie]

As Beto O'Rourke waited to address a large union gathering in Las Vegas, a campaign aide showed him the news that a gunman had killed multiple people during a mass shooting in El Paso, the city that raised him and the place he represented in Congress.

A stunned O'Rourke went into denial.

"I didn't believe it," he told The Dallas Morning News in an interview from El Paso. "Somebody showed me a tweet or text message. I said 'this is a false alarm.' That was my hopeful thinking. It wasn't something that my mind could accept."

Once reality set in, O'Rourke, visibly shaken, gave brief remarks at the union confab, then canceled all of his campaign events and headed home. En route, he checked in with his wife, Amy, who was returning home from a summer camp with their three kids. And he got more anxious as the casualties continued to rise.

"It just crushed me," he said.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/08/05/beto-orourke-el-paso-shooting-just-crushed

[Cha]

1. I can only imagine.. it

crushed so many of us.. but living there and Representing the District would be a whole other level.

[brer cat]

2. Beto's reactions have been achingly honest.

He's hurt, he's angry, and he let it show. imo, he has framed this better than anyone else, placing blame where it belongs on trump, and calling out the media as well.

I hope that Beto will heal along with El Paso.

[PatrickforO]

3. A genuine guy. You've got to admire Beto.

I'm glad we have him on our side.

[MustLoveBeagles]

4. I'm not suprised

He looked so shellshocked at the AFSCME forum. He feels things very deeply.