Gov. Greg Abbott and state Rep. James Talarico got into a back-and-forth over Talarico’s call to act on gun reform in the wake of a mass shooting in Austin’s popular West Sixth Street entertainment district early Sunday morning. 

Talarico reshared a video from late last year on Sunday in which the U.S. Senate hopeful discussed the need for legislative change. 

“We prayed, and God sent moms from both political parties to advocate in the halls of power for gun safety,” Talarico said in the video posted on X. “We prayed, and God sent lawmakers with common-sense gun safety proposals like universal background checks, redflag laws and closing the gun show loophole.” 

Talarico wrote on X that he was “tired of the ‘thoughts and prayers’ rhetoric from our leaders here in Texas and in our nation’s capital.” Tying his message to his faith, he added: “Scripture reminds us that faith without words is dead — it’s time for us to act.”

The problem here, James, is not the gun show loophole.

It’s the unvetted immigrant loophole.

Allowing unvetted immigrants who are hostile to America, who are loyal to our adversaries like Iran, must end.

This was an act of terror, James.

The way to end it is to end the… https://t.co/lRyt3OK5Hv

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 1, 2026

Abbott pushed back on Talarico’s comments, arguing that the problem wasn’t the “gun show loophole,” instead, it was what the governor described as the “unvetted immigrant loophole.” 

“Allowing unvetted immigrants who are hostile to America, who are loyal to our adversaries like Iran, must end,” Abbott wrote on X. “This was an act of terror, James. The way to end it is to end the current open immigration policies. You and your immigration policies would make America less safe.” 

Talarico made his stance clear, declaring that “dangerous people” should not be allowed into the country, nor should they be allowed to get guns. 

“Texans understand this — you apparently don’t,” Talarico responded on X. 

The American-Statesman contacted Talarico’s camp and Abbott’s office for further comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

Notably, officials have identified the shooting suspect — who is among the three people dead — as Ndiaga Diagne, a Senegalese native who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2013. The 53-year-old was shot and killed by Austin police during a rampage that the FBI is now investigating as a possible act of terrorism. 

Although an agency official said it was too early to determine a motive, authorities disclosed that Diagne was wearing clothing that bore an image of the Iranian flag and the words “Property of Allah.” 

The governor issued a press release following the shooting, saying he offered full support of state resources to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman F. Martin. 

“Texas mourns with the families and loved ones of those who were horrifically killed in last night’s attack in Austin,” Abbott said in Sunday’s press release. 

Officials have also identified the two other people killed in the shooting as Savitha Shan and Ryder Harrington. Fourteen others were injured.Â