A Republican senator was booed and heckled by her constituents when she was challenged about America's gun control laws.

At a town hall in her home state of Iowa, a teacher told Joni Ernst that she had recently been asked to listen to sounds to "determine if they were gunshots or not."

The educator who did not reveal her name, added that she had "asked to be trained to man a family reunification centre to provide counselling to parents seeking their children following a catastrophic event."

Questioning the senator, she said: "When can I plan to get back to trainings that simply teach children to read and write?"

Ms Ernst, who is up for re-election in 2020, replied: "A lot of the incidents we've seen do come back to mental illness."

Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Show all 21 1 /21 Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Several officers (top left and right) firing at Connor Betts (bottom left), who they identified as the gunman, seconds after he began killing people outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Betts killed nine people including his sister, and injured 26 others. He was also shot dead at the scene by the responding officers Dayton Police Department/AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 rifle with a 100-round double drum magazine which Connor Betts used Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Surveillance footage of people beginning to flee from the sound of gunshots fired by Connor Betts Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Police officers move towards Connor Betts Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The vehicle which Connor Betts traveled to the scene in Dayton Police Department/EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Bodies are removed from the scene of a mass shooting in Dayton AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The city's mayor, Nan Whaley, said the shooter was wearing body armour and used a ".223 high-capacity" gun during the assault. “In less than one minute, Dayton first responders neutralized the shooter.” AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar The FBI is assisting with the investigation Derek Myers/AFP/Getty Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar It was the second mass shooting in the US in less than 24 hours AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Witnesses comfort one another at the scene AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Police tape drapes over a chair near a pile of shoes. The shooting took place in the popular bar and nightlife area, Oregon district Dayton Daily News via AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Dayton police look for evidence Dayton Daily News via AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Shoes piled outside the scene AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Residents comfort each other as they await word on whether they know any of the victims AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Authorities retrieve evidence markers AP Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Evidence markers lay on the ground near a hotdog stand Reuters Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Evidence markers rest on the ground after a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. August 4, 2019. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston BRYAN WOOLSTON Reuters Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar People fill the streets during a vigil EPA Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Mourners gather to recognise the victims Getty Ohio shooting: Gunman kills nine after opening fire outside bar Mourners leave flowers and candles at the entrance of Ned Peppers bar Getty

The crowd immediately broke out into boos, while some shouted “do something!” and “what about the guns?”

As Ms Ernst responded by saying that America had been through many hardships, a member of the audience cried out: “It’s not the same.”

As she went on to suggest that America was “short on” mental health resources, a member of the audience called out: “We’re short congresspeople that take action.”

The crowd applauded.

The town hall took place two weeks after back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio led to calls for politicians to reconsider US gun laws.

Led by president Donald Trump, Republicans have questioned the mental health of the killers.

Others have blamed violence in video games - a theory which has been widely discredited.

Ms Ernst, meanwhile, went on to claim that she was in support of gun control laws already in existence, and attempted to steer the town hall towards other issues.

But over half the audience’s questions concerned gun control laws, according to the Iowa Starting Line website.

One member shouted: “We need you to protect us.”