Texas officials deflect questions on ‘missing hour’ when gunman was in school – latest updates

One of the hosts responding to the Texas shooting on late-night TV on Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel, became visibly upset as he did so.

“Once again, we grieve for the little boys and girls whose lives have been ended and whose families have been destroyed,” he said.

While the right will “warn us not to politicise” the shooting, Kimmel added, it’s important to remember “they know what they’ve done and they know what they haven’t done”.

The “very least we can do” is insist upon background checks for those seeking to purchase a gun, a law that has been stalled in Congress.

“They won’t pass it because our cowardly leaders just aren’t listening to us, they’re listening to the NRA, they’re listening to those people who write them checks who keep them in power,” Kimmel said.

“If your solution to children being massacred is armed guards, you haven’t been paying attention to what’s going on,” the host said before reminding viewers of the many times armed guards and police officers have not prevented school shootings.

Kimmel then zeroed in on the Texas senator Ted Cruz, who is scheduled to speak at an NRA event in Houston this weekend.

“I refuse to believe he’s unaffected by this,” he said. “He’s not a monster, he’s a human being.”

To Cruz and the many others who refuse to recognise the danger of guns, Kimmel said: “It’s OK to admit you made a mistake, it’s not just OK, it’s necessary.”

He continued: “Do I think these men are brave people? No I don’t but man I would love it if these guys surprised me.”

Kimmel also said “it isn’t a time for moments of silence, this is a time to be loud”, before reminding viewers there have been 27 US school shootings this year and it’s still only May.

“How does this make sense to anyone?” he asked. “These are our children.”

Related: Kimmel on gun control: ‘Our cowardly leaders just aren’t listening to us’