"What we really have to start asking ourselves is what can we do as a nation to rectify the situation,” Carson said today on ABC’s “This Week.” "I think we should talk about the actual facts. If we can get rid of the rhetoric from either side and actually talk about the facts, I think that’s when we begin to make progress.”

Carson condemned the shooting at the clinic, calling it a hate crime. Police have arrested 57-year-old Robert Dear in connection with the shooting but haven't released a motive.

"Unfortunately, there is a lot of extremism coming from all areas," Carson said. "It’s one of the biggest problems that I think is threatening to tear our country apart. We get into our separate corners and we hate each other and we want to destroy those with whom we disagree. That comes from both sides, so there’s no saint here in this equation.”

Dear, 57, is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.