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Trump Calls Texas Shooting An 'Act Of Evil'

TOKYO (CNN) - President Donald Trump on Monday morning decried the shooting in Texas as an "act of evil" and called it "horrific."

A gunman killed 26 people and injured more than 20 others in a Texas church on Sunday.

"This act of evil occurred as the victims and their families were in their place of sacred worship. We cannot put into words the pain and grief we all feel and we cannot begin to imagine the suffering of those who lost the ones they love," Trump said at the top of his previously scheduled remarks to business leaders at the US embassy in Tokyo.

Trump, speaking just hours after the shooting, said his "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims and their families, but did not suggest plans to take any legislative or other policy action to address the shooting.

"This isn't a guns situation. This is a mental health problem at the highest level. It's a very, very sad event. A very, very sad event, but that's the way I view it," Trump stated.

Trump described the gunman as a "very deranged individual."

Trump once again urged unity in the face of the latest mass shooting in US history and said it is what Americans "do best."

"We pull together. We join hands, we lock arms and through the tears and through the sadness we stand strong, oh so strong," Trump said.

At Least 20 People Killed 24 Injured After Mass Shooting At Texas Church
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TX - NOVEMBER 5: Law enforcement officials gather near the First Baptist Church following a shooting on November 5, 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. At least 20 people were reportedly killed and 24 injured when a gunman, identified as Devin P. Kelley, 26, entered the church during a service and opened fire. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)

Trump pledged his administration's "full support to the great state of Texas and all local authorities investigating this horrible crime."

(The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

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