Ohio Elected Officials Offer Condolences after Las Vegas Shooting

Ohio public officials offered prayers, condolences and calls for a renewed focus on weapons after a gunman killed more than 50 people and injured hundreds in Las Vegas. 

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown called such shootings “one of the saddest aspects of our culture now.”

“This random gun violence begs the question, how does somebody like that get a gun that can discharge that many rounds in that few seconds?” Brown, a Democrat, said in an interview on WVIZ/PBS’s Ideas. “And how do you talk to your children about this when it’s so random? Everyone always says this, but our hearts go out to those who were killed, the family members, and those who were injured.”

Asked if Congress might consider gun control measures, Brown said no, adding, “the NRA pretty much seems to own the president of the United States and the majority leaders in the House and Senate.” 

Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican, responded to the news in a series of tweets this morning.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich declared that flags would fly at half-staff on Monday, after an order by President Trump.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson called the shooting “yet another reminder that we need to renew and reinforce our efforts to remove and keep weapons from the hands of those who should not have them.” The mayor’s office released the statement in an email Monday morning. 

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, family members, and friends impacted by the senseless shootings that have taken scores of lives and wounded hundreds more,” Jackson said. “No words can express the suffering and loss.”

Here are responses from other Ohio members of Congress: