Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was criticized over his "tone deaf" celebration of a Buffalo Bills victory before a press conference about gun violence.
"First, I'm going to, of course, talk about Instacart and their ripping off the consumer. Then, of course, I'm going to say a few words about the terrible shooting in Sydney, Australia, OK?"
"So — and first, of course, as I always say no matter what — go Bills. They beat the Patriots today. It's a big deal," he added.
Schumer made the comments in a Sunday televised appearance, hours after two gunmen opened fire during a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, including a child, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called an act of antisemitic terrorism.
He also referenced the shooting Saturday at Brown University, where a gunman killed two people and injured nine others.
Later, Schumer said of the shootings, "These sickening events have become far too normal in our world. We must do more to stop gun violence."
New York-based radio host Nino Chavez wrote on X that "Schumer reminds us that it definitely isn't just Trump that says cringeworthy stuff at inappropriate times."
Conservative commentator Alec Lace called the comments "tone deaf."
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called on Schumer to "Retire. Immediately."
Police in Rhode Island on Monday renewed their search for the gunman involved in the university shooting, a day after releasing a person of interest after determining the evidence pointed "in a different direction."
Officials announced the man’s release at a news conference late Sunday, marking a setback in the investigation of Saturday’s attack on the Ivy League school's campus and adding to mounting questions about the case, including a lack of video evidence.
Also, there were many over whether the focus on the person of interest might have given the killer more time to escape.
The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody, and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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