Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D.) on Wednesday told reporters at a press conference that the United States loses "93 million Americans a day to gun violence."
The Alexandria Police Department held a joint press conference on Wednesday morning with the United States Capitol Police to address the shooting that occurred hours earlier at a baseball field in Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood. A gunman opened fire on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game, wounding several people including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R., La.).
McAuliffe attended the press conference and was asked whether more needs to be done to protect politicians.
"Let me say this, I think we need to do more to protect all of our citizens," McAuliffe said. "I have long advocated—this is not what today is about, but there are too many guns on the street. We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence."
"I've long talked about this, background checks, shutting down gun show loopholes. That's not for today's discussion, but it's not just about politicians," he added. "We worry about this every day for all of our citizens."
The governor's response prompted a reporter to ask him why he was bringing up the gun issue if it was not a conversation that he was going to have on Wednesday, saying that he would be criticized for politicizing the shooting by pushing gun control.
"Sir, just checking. Ninety-three million is a big number. Did you mean to say 93 million?" one reporter then asked.
"Ninety-three individuals a day," McAuliffe corrected himself.