In the wake of a mass shooting in New York City that killed four people, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said "idiot control" is needed rather than gun control.
"All you can do in a time like this is be sorry," Kennedy said in an interview shortly after the shootings.
Monday, a man stalked through a Manhattan office tower firing an AR-15 rifle killing four people, including a New York City police officer, and wounding a fifth before taking his own life, officials said. The shooting took place at a skyscraper that is home to the headquarters of both the National Football League and Blackstone, one of the world's largest investment firms, among other tenants.
Investigators believe that he was trying to target the NFL headquarters but took the wrong elevator, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. A rambling note found on his body suggested he had a grievance against the NFL over an unsubstantiated claim that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions and other repeated head trauma common in contact sports like football.
Kennedy said he predicts Democrats will use the shooting as another call for stricter gun laws.
"We've got hundreds of gun control laws. Maybe thousands. We don't need more gun control, we need more idiot control, and I don't know exactly how to do that," Kennedy said on FOX News.
Kennedy said we should not feel sorry for the shooter, while advocating for New York City to bring back its stop-and-frisk laws.
"The other thing that, frankly, New York's going to have to face is the issue of whether we should bring back more aggressive stop and frisk, which is a perfectly legal law enforcement tactic," Kennedy said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.