Former congressman Beto O’Rourke said President Donald Trump’s racism is partly to blame for Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso, Texas.

O’Rourke, an El Paso native who’s running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, told ABC News the president is “a racist, and he stokes racism in this country. It does not just offend our sensibilities; it fundamentally changes the character of this country and it leads to violence.”

A 21-year-old white man from Allen, Texas, is in custody following the El Paso attack, which killed 20 people and injured many more.

When asked if President Trump is “at all responsible” for the murderous rampage, O’Rourke responded: “Yes.”

#BREAKING I just asked @BetoORourke if @realDonaldTrump is at all responsible for today’s mass shooting in #ElPaso He said yes and added that in his opinion, the President is indeed a racist. @abc7breaking @ABC pic.twitter.com/wA3iB3uLFN — Michael Gordon KVIA ABC-7 (@MichaelGordonTV) August 4, 2019

Shortly before the suspect in the mass shooting began firing, an anti-immigrant screed decrying a “Hispanic invasion of Texas” appeared online. It stated: “If we can get rid of enough people, then our way of life can be more sustainable.” Authorities are “attempting to determine” if the online “manifesto” was written by the suspect, The New York Times reports.

Just hours after the Texas mass shooting, another gunman shot and killed nine people in a popular entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio.

O’Rourke initially addressed the El Paso shooting at a Las Vegas candidate forum on Saturday.

"We have to find some reason for optimism and hope or else we consign ourselves to a future where nearly 40,000 people a year will lose their lives to gun violence and I cannot accept that," he said.

Fellow Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, also in Las Vegas, appeared to agree with O’Rourke about Trump’s partial culpability. “The individuals who do the shootings are responsible, but I do think Trump's rhetoric has fueled more hate in this country,” the Minnesota senator said.

Other candidates in the crowded Democratic presidential field also weighed in on the latest mass shootings, The Associated Press reports.

"This is a sickness," former Vice President Joe Biden said. "This is beyond anything that we should be tolerating."

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed Republican political leaders for being “more concerned about pleasing the [National Rifle Association] than listening to the vast majority of the American people.”

"All over the world, people are looking at the United States and wondering what is going on?” Sanders said of the regularity with which mass shootings happen in this country. “What is the mental-health situation in America, where time after time after time after time we’re seeing indescribable horror?”

The cable channel Fox News declared in a headline Saturday that Democratic candidates were facing a “backlash for politicizing tragedy.” The report cited anonymous social-media criticism of Democratic presidential candidates.

President Trump tweeted a condemnation of the El Paso massacre, calling it “tragic” and “an act of cowardice.” He added: “There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people. [First Lady] Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the great people of Texas.”

-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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