‘Individuals are responsible': Virginia shooting not Bernie Sanders’ fault

The gunman who shot and injured five people Wednesday in Alexandria, Va., is dead after injuries sustained at the scene, and more reports are coming out about his background.

Shooting suspect James T. Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois, volunteered for the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and seems to have been a progressive activist.

Social media accounts attributed to Hodgkinson and discovered by columnist Phil Kerpen revealed that he marched to protest climate change and compared President Donald Trump to Hitler. Hodgkinson lashed out at a GOP candidate in one post for not supporting a higher minimum wage, and he also seemed to fear members of the Koch family who have long been donors to libertarian and conservative causes.

Sanders has since denounced Hodgkinson’s actions, saying, “Real change can only come about through nonviolent action, and anything else runs counter to our most deeply held American values.”

On Wednesday’s “Pat & Stu,” Pat Gray and Stu Burguiere talked about the latest news from the shooting and remembered the last time a member of Congress was shot. In 2011, Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head in a grocery store in Tucson. She survived the attack, but six other people were killed.

Pat and Stu noted that at the time, liberals used the shooting to whip up outrage against conservatives. But because people are always responsible for their own actions, it isn’t right to blame a shooter’s motives on politicians or other public figures and their ideas.

Individuals are responsible for themselves, Stu asserted.

“I just think it’s right [not to politicize shootings]. Not right because it’s nice; it’s right because it’s your principle and you stand by it,” he said. “And I actually do believe individuals are responsible.”

To see more from Pat & Stu, visit their channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “Pat & Stu” with Pat Gray, Stu Burguiere and Jeffy Fisher weekdays 5–7 p.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.