Steve Kerr, Whose Dad Was Fatally Shot, Pleads for Tougher Gun Laws Following Texas School Shooting

Reacting to the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting earlier in the day, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr makes a statement before Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference finals Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Dallas. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/AP

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr became emotional and called on politicians to take action as he reacted to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, in which 19 children and two adults were killed.

In a press conference before the Warriors played the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Western Conference finals, Kerr said he wouldn’t be discussing basketball, stating, “Any basketball questions don’t matter.”

“Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed 400 miles from here, and a teacher,” Kerr says in a video shared on the Warrior’s official Twitter page, his voice noticeably becoming shaky while he appears to hold back tears.

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Initially, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that 14 students and an adult were gunned down in their classroom, but on Tuesday evening, Sgt. Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the death toll had risen to 19 students and two adults, according to CNN.

Kerr then referenced the Buffalo, N.Y. tragedy where 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a local grocery store in what officials described as a racially motivated attack that targeted Black people, and a shooting at a Laguna Woods, Calif. church that left one person dead and four people critically injured – both of which have happened in the last 10 days, Kerr noted.

His father, Malcolm Kerr, was the president of the American University of Beirut when he was fatally shot by two men outside his office in 1984, per Esquire and USA Today’s For the Win.

“Now we have children murdered at school,” he added before raising his tone and asking, “When are we gonna do something?”

aw enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, in Uvalde, Texas Texas School Shooting, Uvalde, United States – 24 May 2022

Visibly upset, he continued, “I’m tired. I’m so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I’m so tired of the – I’m sorry – I’m tired of the moments of silence. Enough.”

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Kerr then called on lawmakers and said, “There’s 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on H.R. 8 which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple of years ago. It’s been sitting there for two years. And there’s a reason they won’t vote on it – to hold on to power.”

“So I ask you, Mitch McConnell, I ask all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence and school shootings and supermarket shootings, I ask you: Are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of our children and our elderly and our churchgoers? Because that’s what it looks like. That’s what we do every week,” said Kerr.

RELATED: CBS Pulls FBI Season Finale After Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas

aw enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, in Uvalde, Texas Texas School Shooting, Uvalde, United States – 24 May 2022

Continued Kerr: “I’m fed up, I’ve had enough. We’re gonna play the game tonight, but I want every person here, every person listening to this, to think about your own child, your grandchild, your mother, father, sister, or brother – how would you feel if this happened to you today? We can’t get numb to this. We can’t sit here and just read about it and go ‘Well, let’s have a moment of silence, yeah, go Dubbs. Come on Mavs, let’s go.’ “

“That’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna play a basketball game. And 50 senators in Washington are gonna hold us hostage. You realize that 90 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, want universal background checks? We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington who refuse to even put it to a vote despite what we, the American people, want.

“They won’t vote on it because they want to hold on to their own power. It’s pathetic, I’ve had enough,” Kerr said as he walked off the stage.

RELATED VIDEO: Vice President Kamala Harris Gives Speech about Texas School Shooting

According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the shooter, identified as Uvalde resident Salvador Romas, is dead. The shooter opened fire at Robb Elementary School at about 11:30 a.m. after abandoning his vehicle, and it is believed police killed him.

Police said at a Tuesday press conference they believe the shooter, who according to Abbott had a handgun and possibly a rifle, acted alone. The children killed were in the second, third and fourth grades, police said.

Uvalde is a small city of about 16,000 residents, approximately 85 miles west of San Antonio.