Greg Abbott Abruptly Ends Press Conference on the Border

Texas Governor Greg Abbott took only four questions from reporters in his first remarks after a violent weekend in the state, with his handlers abruptly ending a previously planned press conference on border security after receiving an inquiry about Saturday's mass shooting at a suburban shopping mall.

Mauricio Garcia, 33, shot and killed eight people and injured seven others, with an AR-15 style rifle at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, before he was killed by an Allen Police Department officer who was at the mall on an unrelated call. Saturday's incident marked the 17th mass shooting in Texas this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Meanwhile on Sunday, a sport utility vehicle (SUV) crashed into a crowd of people at a bus stop near a Brownsville-area migrant shelter, leaving eight people dead and 10 more injured.

The motive for the Brownsville incident, or whether it was intentional, is not yet known. Investigator Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said on Sunday that the driver was arrested and charged with reckless driving, adding that more charges will likely be filed.

In addition, multiple media outlets over the weekend reported that Garcia was under investigation for suspected ties to right-wing extremist ideologies sparked by a patch on his tactical vest that had an acronym for the phrase, "Right Wing Death Squad." Others familiar with the investigation told outlets like The Washington Post that they suspected Garcia may even have had white supremacist or neo-Nazi beliefs.

Immediately after Saturday's mass shooting, Abbott declined to directly interact with reporters, instead offering a written statement. While he attended a prayer service for the victims in Allen on Sunday, he declined opportunities to speak with local news outlets, instead offering an interview to Fox News where he said mental health, rather than the widespread prevalence of firearms, was the root cause of gun violence after being confronted with polling that showed widespread support for gun control laws in the United States.

"The long-term solution is to address the mental health issue," the governor said on Fox News Sunday while speaking to host Shannon Bream.

When Abbott announced a press conference in the state capitol for Monday morning, his focus was not on the shooting but, rather, on President Joe Biden's policies around the U.S.-Mexico border, where he spent approximately 15 minutes slamming the Biden administration for its perceived inaction on the immigration crisis.

The governor announced on Monday a series of initiatives to address the migrant surge, including potential felony offenses for anyone found to illegally cross into the country as well as a decade or more-length prison sentence for anyone aiding and abetting illegal immigration.

After answering a trio of questions about immigration—including comment on the Brownsville incident—one reporter pressed Abbott for answers on the shooting at the Allen shopping mall, offering reporters their first opportunity to hear directly from the governor himself on the crisis.

Ultimately, Abbott had little to say.

While the governor's video feed of the press conference cut off in the middle of his response, reporters on the ground reported that Abbott said he was concerned about the devastation the shooting had not just on the victims' families, but the entirety of the Allen community. He added that many were pressing for answers, and that law enforcement was not able to provide them at the present time.

Nor would they, he added, for several days.

"The first step to leading toward some type of resolution here, as well as providing information about the response needed from the state of Texas, is to know exactly why and how this happened," Abbott told reporters. "I believe in the coming days the public will be much better informed about why and how this happened, and that will inform us as Texas leaders about next steps to try and prevent crimes like this from taking place in the future."

Immediately after Abbott's response, aides could be heard on camera announcing the end of the press conference, even as other reporters could be heard shouting questions in the background. While little is known about the rest of the governor's agenda for the day, Abbott is scheduled to attend a 3 p.m. event in Robstown, Texas, where he is scheduled to join multi-billionaire businessman and Twitter CEO Elon Musk to "deliver remarks at Tesla refinery groundbreaking."

Meanwhile, gun reform advocates—including the parents of the children who were killed during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last year—were demonstrating at the Texas statehouse in support of a measure to raise the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle.

"We're going to raise hell today," one of the demonstrators said.

In addition, gun rights advocates say gun control policies would violate the Second Amendment, which says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." They point to policies increasing security measures and mental health to reduce gun violence.

Newsweek has reached out to Abbott's press office via phone and email for comment.