Rep. Veronica Escobar Veronica EscobarHispanic caucus report takes stock of accomplishments with eye toward 2021 Races heat up for House leadership posts Ahead of a coronavirus vaccine, Mexico's drug pricing to have far-reaching impacts on Americans MORE (D-Texas), whose district includes the El Paso Walmart where 20 people were shot and killed Saturday, said it "was not accidental" that the store – where many Hispanic Americans and Mexicans shop – was targeted

"In this country, we have a gun violence epidemic but we also hate a hate epidemic," she said Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week." "Until we deal with that hate and until we confront the weak gun laws that we have, we'll keep seeing this. The families in this community deserve better. Families in every community deserve better."

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Escobar said her mother lives just blocks away from the Walmart, where two dozen people were also wounded in the shooting, and that her family shops there frequently. She described a bustling store with families shopping for school supplies and where "a lot of our neighbors and friends and family members from across the border come and shop."

Rep. Veronica Escobar says a 2-year-old who survived the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso is “recovering from broken bones” after his 25-year-old mother "who was shot multiple times and killed – used her body to shield him and save his life.” https://t.co/MbnF4BZ5XD pic.twitter.com/2tH8FQPuG7 — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 4, 2019

"To be a safe community we need to treat people with dignity and respect," she said. "We have a very different philosophy in El Paso than the philosophy that emanates from the White House. We embrace each other and take care of each other."