U.S. President Donald Trump has partially placed the blame on video games for the two horrific mass shootings that happened over the weekend and left at least 29 people dead.
“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this,” the president said in a televised address to the nation early Monday.
On Saturday, a gunman opened fire at shopping center in El Paso, Texas killing 20 people and wounding at least 26 others. The shooter is a Patrick Crusius, 21, of Allen, Texas, according to multiple media reports.
Crusius has since been taken into custody and charged with capital murder and may also face hate crime charges. He wanted to stop a “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” according to a racist manifesto that law enforcement agencies believe he penned.
Thirteen hours after the massacre in El Paso, a gunman in Dayton, Ohio, who was donning a mask, ear protection and body armor, and carrying a high-powered rifle and 100-bullet magazines killed nine people – including his sister – and injured 27 others. Authorities identified the gunman as 24-year-old Cornnor Betts. He was neutralized by police within 30 seconds of opening fire.
Trump’s comments came after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California also blamed video games for gun violence during an interview with Fox News. “The idea of these video games that dehumanize individuals to have a game of shooting individuals and others — I’ve always felt that is a problem for future generations and others,” McCarthy said.
“We’ve watched from studies shown before of what it does to individuals. When you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others,” he added.
Trump did not give any details on how that crackdown might be launched or what form it would take. Shares of video game makers tumbled during the regular trading session on Monday following Trump’s comments.
Shares of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI) lost 5.96% to close the session at $46.10. Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), the company best known for video games like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto, declined 5.19% to end the session at $115.38.
Electronic Arts (Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), the company behind video games like Madden NFL and Fifa, ended the session with a loss of 4.63% to $88.59.