KALAMAZOO, MI - As his 14-year-old daughter recovers from being shot in the head in a Kalamazoo shooting spree that left six dead, Gene Kopf has become was he calls "a man with a mission."

"I'm not out to ban guns, but there is an epidemic of mass shootings across the country that needs to be addressed," he said. "... That's an undeniable fact."

Kopf, of Battle Creek, was in the national spotlight Sunday when at the Democratic presidential debate in Flint he asked Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders what could be done to prevent future gun violence like what Kalamazoo experienced Feb. 20.

In response, Clinton mentioned the Brady Bill and its success keeping guns out of the hands of millions of people who should not have them. She called for an end to immunity for gun manufacturers and sellers that she says allows them to skirt accountability when guns are sold to people who shouldn't possess them.

Sanders said that instant background checks should be expanded and he touted his D-minus rating from the National Rifle Association.

Kopf, who said he attended the debate at the invitation of CNN, said he was hoping not to hear "the usual knee-jerk answer" about closing loopholes on personal background checks and expanding mental health treatment.

"I did not expect that there would be a miraculous answer at the debate," Kopf said of the responses from the two candidates. "I wanted to acknowledge that it's an issue that exists and it needs to be addressed."

Kopf, a Sanders supporter, said he attended the Vermont senator's campaign rally Monday at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo and met with Sanders for about 10 minutes. He said he talked more with Sanders about ways to address gun violence.

"He has some ideas that may address it partially, but he doesn't have a magic wand," Kopf said of Sanders. "We had a long talk about that ... He did say in the debate there is no magic want and he really made a point to emphasize it in person."

Kopf said his question at the debate drew some "nasty Facebook messages" accusing him of wanting to ban all guns.

"I am most interested in the fact that everyone wants to be carrying a gun ... and I think that's the issue," Kopf said. "If everyone is carrying a gun like the Wild West ... the number of possibilities for problems to occur is huge."

Kopf, a gun owner and hunter, said he wants to be part of a conversation on how to curb gun violence in the U.S. but is not out to ban all guns.

"At the same time, if someone would say the magic wand to stop it entirely would be to make the guns disappear ... regretfully, if that's what it takes to make sure no more children get shot then I would take that bitter medicine and live with it," he said. "I don't claim to know the answer to all of this, I'm still doing a lot of research myself, a lot of introspection.

"The way I see it, it's like an avalanche, trying to guess which snowflake is going to set off the avalanche. You may never know but the avalanche is inevitable."

Abigail Kopf was with four women - Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda; and Dororthy "Judy" Brown, 74; Barbara Hawthorne, 68, and Mary Jo Nye, 60, all of Battle Creek - the night of Feb. 20 when police and prosecutors say Jason Brian Dalton, 45, fired multiple gunshots into two vehicles at the Cracker Barrel on South Ninth Street in Oshtemo Township. Abigail was critically injured and the four women were all killed.

Dalton is also charged with shooting and killing 17-year-old Tyler Smith and his father, Rich Smith, 53, in an auto dealership parking lot about 15 minutes before the Cracker Barrel shootings and with shooting and seriously injuring Tiana Carruthers, 25, earlier that day at a townhomes complex in east of Kalamazoo.

Kopf said he and his wife, as well as doctors, have been in awe of the "radical improvement" in the condition of Abigail, who was due to be moved Tuesday from Bronson Methodist Hospital to a rehabilitation facility.

"Radical improvement every day, it's huge," he said. "She acts more and more like herself. She smiles, she giggles, she writes."

Kopf said his daughter was able to write a message to a group of first responders who had been at the shooting scene when they visited her Monday in the hospital. He said she wasn't talking yet but she is walking with assistance and improving at that each day.

"I don't even know how to put it into words, I really don't," he said of his daughter's recovery. "You start with thinking that she's dead and then you know that there's a dangerous wound and it's a grave injury and from there all you can do is hope," he said. "... (The doctors) are very pleasantly surprised at how well she's doing, there's no doubt about that.

"Initially, they had little hope, but it turns out things are progressing far better than they ever thought."

Kopf said he and his wife, Vicki, have been overwhelmed by the support of the community. A GoFundMe page had raised almost $54,000, as of Tuesday afternoon, and Kopf said Seelye Kia donated a car to the family to use for travel to see Abigail as she works through her rehabilitation.

He and Vicki have come to realize that Abigail's recovery has become something positive to come out of a horrible tragedy.

"It took us a while to realize that," he said. "It's a ray of sunshine during a dark storm."

Rex Hall Jr. is a reporter for MLive.com. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.