Greg Abbott slammed for tweet after mass shooting: 'No shame' (2024)

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was grilled on social media for a lighthearted post in the wake of a grisly mass shooting in his state.

At least five people were killed in a Friday shooting at a property in Cleveland, Texas, a city located roughly 55 miles northeast of Houston. Three of the victims were female, with the other two being male, including an eight-year-old boy. At least three other minors were found uninjured by responding officers, including two children located underneath two of the female victims.

The suspect, 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza, remains at large after the incident, with a local FBI field office assisting in the search and a judge issuing an arrest warrant with a $5 million bond. Police reported that Oropeza allegedly carried out the shooting using an AR-15-style rifle after the victims, who were his neighbors, asked him to stop firing a gun in his front yard because it was keeping a baby awake.

As of Saturday evening, several hours after the news about the grisly shooting emerged, Governor Abbott, a Republican, had yet to issue a public statement about the situation. At approximately 12:30 p.m. local time, Abbott's official Twitter account instead shared a lighthearted post featuring a photo of his dog, declaring, "All smiles for the weekend."

Abbott's lack of a response to the tragedy unfolding in Cleveland was swiftly denounced by many on Twitter, including Brett Cross, a parent who lost his child at the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde last May.

"All smiles this weekend? No mention of the 5 that were murdered for asking a man to quit shooting so they could sleep?" Cross wrote. "The same damn smiles after Uvalde. The same damn smiles after Santa Fe. The same damn smiles after El Paso X2. F*** you and your smile."

The Texas Signal, which touts itself as the "largest progressive media company" in the Lone Star State, gave a succinct response to Abbott's post, alongside a link to another of their tweets about the situation: "No shame."

"Most Texans woke up to the news of the horrific killing of an innocent family by a lethal AR-15," the Signal's official account wrote. "Greg Abbott is tweeting about having a great weekend. He signed permitless carry into law last session. We deserve better than Texas Republicans."

"Five more innocent people dead because of gun violence," another user, Marlene Robertson, wrote. "I guess this is Greg Abbott's way of thanking them for their sacrifice."

"And Greg Abbott responds— with a photo of his dog," political scientist Norman Ornstein wrote. "Pro-death governor of Texas."

On Sunday, the day after the comments calling out his lack of a response, a spokesperson for Abbott provided Newsweek with an official statement on the shooting.

"Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims taken in this horrible tragedy. The criminal who killed these 5 victims was in the country illegally and had been previously deported 4 times," the statement read. "President Biden's open border policies are deadly — whether it is crimes like this or the thousands killed by fentanyl being smuggled across the border. The Governor is working with the Texas Department of Public Safety and other state and local officials to ensure that all available resources are used to respond to this crime. It's time for President Biden to end his dangerous open border policies and enforce the immigration laws."

Updated, 04/30/2023, 6:05 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Abbott's office.