Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro says white supremacy is a growing threat that needs to be rooted out.
"Someone drove ten hours to kill people who look like me and people who look like my family," Castro told the audience in Houston on Thursday during the third Democratic presidential debate, referring to the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.
"White supremacy is a growing threat to this country and we have to root it out. I'm proud that I put forward a plan to disarm hate. I'm also proud that I was the first to put forward a police reform plan because we’re not going to have any more Laquan McDonalds or Eric Garners or Michael Browns or Pamela Turners or Walter Scott or Sandra Bland from the Houston area.
"We need to root out racism and I believe we can do that, because that doesn't represent the vast majority of Americans who do have a good heart. They need a leader to match that and I will be a president that matches that," he added.
The shooter in El Paso allegedly told police he was targeting "Mexicans" in the attack. Twenty-two people were killed and 26 were wounded.
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