White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany scolded reporters during Monday’s press briefing for failing to ask a single question about a violent weekend that saw an 8-year-old girl die in Atlanta, as the nation saw a surge in gun violence.
“I’d end with this, I was asked probably 12 questions about the Confederate flag, this president is focused on action and I’m a little dismayed that I didn’t receive one question on the deaths that we got in this country this weekend,” McEnany said.
NEW YORK CITY VIOLENCE: 8 KILLED DURING FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND
“I didn’t receive one question about New York City shootings doubling for the third-straight week… not one question. I didn’t receive one question about five children who were killed,” McEnany said.
“I’ll leave you with this remark by a dad. It broke my heart, a dad of an 8-year-old last in Atlanta this weekend, ‘They say Black lives matter. You killed a child, she didn’t do nothing to nobody.’”
McEnany then said, “We need to be focused on securing our streets, making sure no lives are lost, because all black lives matter, that of [retired St. Louis police captain] David Dorn and that of this 8-year-old girl. Thank you.”
McEnany – who spent much of the press briefing responding to questions about a tweet President Trump sent earlier in the day about NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace – quickly left the stage after condemning reporters.
FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND MARKED BY VIOLENCE AS GIRL, 7, AMONG DEAD IN CHICAGO, CITIES SEE DEADLY SHOOTINGS
Many questions directed to McEnany were about the tweet, while reporters in the room overlooked a chaotic weekend filled with violence in many American cities as more than 14 were killed and dozens were injured in shootings.
An 8-year-old girl, identified by police as Secoriea Turner, was killed during a July 4 shooting near the Atlanta Wendy’s where a police officer shot and killed Rayshard Brooks last month.
Police said Turner was riding in a car with her mother and another adult when a group fired multiple times at the vehicle, hitting the girl. In Chicago, a city known for gun violence, more than 67 people were shot over the holiday weekend and at least 13 were killed, including a 7-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.
The New York City Police Department saw at least 44 shootings, from which there were 63 victims, from July 3 to July 5, according to data provided by the NYPD. Several shootings in the city of Baltimore over the weekend also left at least one person dead and eight injured.
Dorn, who was also referenced by McEnany, was killed while trying to protect his friend’s pawn shop from looters during the early hours of June 2, after a protest turned violent.
