WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump and the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio (all times local):

1 a.m.

Speaking out against weekend mass shootings that rocked the nation, President Donald Trump on Monday called for bipartisan solutions to the bloodshed.

But Trump offered few details and faced pointed questions from Democrats about whether he had the moral authority to rally America against the spasm of violence and racism.

Trump called the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, barbaric crimes “against all humanity” and called for unity to respond to an epidemic of gun violence. He blamed mental illness and video games but made no mention of more limits on the firearms that can be sold.

The mayor of El Paso said Trump would visit the city Wednesday, though some local lawmakers and others signaled opposition. There were also indications that Trump might visit Dayton.

___

1:25 p.m.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for all people “to work together to counter violence rooted in hatred, racism, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination.”

The statement came from U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday.

Dujarric says the secretary-general “condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in El Paso, Texas” and “expresses his shock and outrage over the mass shooting only hours later in Dayton, Ohio.”

Guterres recently released a strategy and plan of action on hate speech that seeks to address the root causes and respond more effectively.

According to Dujarric, the secretary-general says hate speech must be condemned by “refusing to amplify it, countering it with the truth, and encouraging the perpetrators to change their behavior.”

___

1:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the nation must reform mental health laws to better identify “mentally disturbed individuals” after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio this weekend killed dozens of people.

The Republican president avoided blaming guns for the killings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. He said at the White House on Monday, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

The Ohio shooter killed his sister and eight other people before he was shot dead by police. Authorities say the El Paso shooter posted a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto before killing 21 people and being taken into custody.

Trump blames a culture in which violent video games and “dark recesses” of social media contribute to radicalizing perpetrators of mass shootings. Trump did not make any mention of his own involvement on social media or his racist tweets aimed at Democratic members of Congress.

___

10:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump is asking the Justice Department to propose legislation so that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty.

The Republican president says he wants capital punishment to be imposed swiftly against those who carry out hate crimes and mass shootings.

Trump spoke from the White House on Monday following weekend shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left dozens of people dead.

Trump says America must stop the glorification of violence in society. He says it’s too easy for troubled youths to surround themselves with a culture of violence.

___

10:20 a.m.

President Donald Trump is calling the recent mass shootings “evil attacks” that are crimes “against all humanity” and says unity must replace hatred in society.

Trump gave a speech from the White House on Monday following weekend shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left dozens of people dead. He called the shootings “barbaric slaughters.”

Trump says “in one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.”

He urges Democrats and Republicans to set aside partisanship and find solutions to violence.

___

7:25 a.m.

President Donald Trump says Washington “must come together” in the wake of two mass shootings this weekend to “get strong background checks” for gun users. But he is providing no details on what sort of legislation he would support.

Trump, who will make remarks later Monday, tweeted about the weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio that left dozens of people dead. He said: “We can never forget them, and those many who came before them.”

The Democrat-led House has passed a gun control bill that includes fixes to the nation’s firearm background check system, but it has languished in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Trump suggested Monday that a background check bill could be paired with his long-sought effort to toughen the nation’s immigration system. But he didn’t say how.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.