Sheriff masterfully shuts down anti-gun narrative after 'racially motivated' shooting: 'The problem is the individual'

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters rebuked on Sunday the leftist narrative that blames guns — not people — for atrocities in which a firearm is used.

On Saturday, a 21-year-old gunman opened fire at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, killing three people before killing himself. The perpetrator left behind multiple manifestos, authorities said, revealing his motive for carrying out the attack. Law enforcement said the attacker was "racially motivated" by his "hate" for black people.

At a press conference providing an update about the attack, a reporter asked Waters "what should have been done" to prevent the atrocity. The problem, Waters explained, is not guns, but people who use them in an evil manner.

"We have to stop people with bad intentions," he said. "The story is always about guns — people are bad — this guy's a bad guy.

"If I could take my gun off right now, and I lay it on this counter, nothing will happen. It'll sit there. But as soon as a wicked person grabs ahold of that handgun and starts shooting people with it, there's the problem," he continued. "The problem is the individual. Now guns are a tool that people use to do horrible things. But it's the individuals that wield these things. So we are working hard to try to stop that."

Watch Live | Sheriff T.K. Waters to give update on racially-motivated mass shootingwww.youtube.com

According to Waters, the perpetrator was legally permitted to own the firearms that he used to carry out his attack. In fact, he had no criminal history, and the firearms were "100% legal."

"There was no flag that could have come up to stop him from purchasing those guns. As a matter of fact, it looks as though he purchased those guns completely legally, and all of the [federal firearm licensed dealers] did what they were supposed to have done to make sure that there were no issues," Waters explained.

"Therein lies the difficulty: When a person grabs ahold of a gun with hateful intentions, it's very difficult to stop that from happening," he said.

The sheriff also rebuffed the excuse that the perpetrator was driven primarily by mental illness. Waters said the perpetrator's manifesto, which the sheriff described as the "diary of a madman," showed that while his ideas were "completely irrational," he was "100% lucid."

"He knew what he was doing," Waters said. "Mental illness is there, but not everyone who is mentally ill grabs a firearm and kills people for no reason."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!