Freshman Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, blasted comments by his House colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other Democrats following the New Zealand mosque massacres.

Ocasio-Cortez, 29, jabbed at the National Rifle Association hours after the atrocity, mocking the “thoughts and prayers” she says were “used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies.”



(“Thoughts and prayers” is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies. Not directed to PM Ardern, who I greatly admire.) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., took aim at Trump, saying: “But words do have consequences, and we know that at the very pinnacle of power in our own country, people are talking about 'good people on both sides,'” he said, referencing Trump's controversial Charlottesville comments.

Crenshaw, 34, a former Navy SEAL who was wounded in Afghanistan, hit back via Twitter: "If you find yourself using the tragedy in New Zealand to take backhanded swipes at conservatives in America - many of my colleagues already have - then you really have no shame and you are part of the problem. It should be easy for us to stand united and condemn terrorism," the Texas lawmaker tweeted.

If you find yourself using the tragedy in New Zealand to take backhanded swipes at conservatives in America - many of my colleagues already have - then you really have no shame and you are part of the problem.



It should be easy for us to stand united and condemn terrorism. — Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) March 15, 2019



After the attack, Crenshaw said in a statement that the shooter "is an absolute coward." He added: "We are praying for the innocent people who lost their lives and the families of the victims."