MSNBC Blames Oklahoma For Shooting Despite Admitting Unknown Facts

Vaugh Hillyard is a MSNBC journalist and was part of an extended edition Andrea Mitchell Reports On Thursday, Hillyard will be reporting from Tulsa in Oklahoma on the mass shooting at Saint Francis Hospital. Hillyard said that the shooter was not yet known, but Hillyard believed it enough to say that Oklahoma and specifically Governor. Kevin Stitt deserves some blame.

After Mitchell asked him to provide the latest information on the shooting, Vaugh reported that details on the firearms used were sparse, “This is a situation here in which the gunman, authorities say, had two weapons on him. One was a—was a—firearm, another was a rifle here. The exact aspects of this rifle are not known here at this time and that is what we are hoping to get a better sense of information from law enforcement.”

Still despite admitting he did not have all the facts, Vaugh reminded viewers that “you’re talking about Oklahoma, a state where, back in 2020, the governor signed into law what is—what’s– called an anti-red flag law, which would prohibit any local municipalities from being able to implement red flag laws which would allow, in the situation, in which a family member, another individual were to raise concerns in the specter of, that a particular individual may pose a threat to themselves or others.”

As if those two things were not bad enough, Hillyard then repeated that he did not have all the facts on the Rifle, but also the shooter himself, “We do not know the current and exact situation about this particular individual, or what the exact aspects of that rifle were, but what we do know is that this individual entered the second floor of the Saint Francis Hospital, it’s a sprawling complex, yesterday afternoon.”

Don’t comment on gun laws or shooter details if you do not have the right information.

Hillyard’s premature conclusions proved to be wrong, because within the hour, a law enforcement press conference would reveal the shooter purchased the weapons hours before the shooting, meaning his family would not have the time to invoke a red flag law, because he blamed a doctor for his post-back surgery pain.

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This transcript is for the June 2 broadcast:

MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports

6/2/2022

11:00 AM ET

ANDREA MITCHELL So, what is the very latest from another mass shooting, law enforcement will be speaking very shortly in Oklahoma about the shooter, the investigation now underway. 

VAUGHN HILLYARD: Yeah Andrea, we’re awaiting these new details from law enforcement any moment now here in Tulsa. What we do know is that there were four civilians that were killed last night here by a gunman who also killed himself upon inflicting gunshot wounds. 

This is a situation here in which the gunman, authorities say, had two weapons on him. One was a—was a—firearm, another was a rifle here. It is not possible to determine the precise details of the rifle, but we will be contacting law enforcement for more information.

Again, this is situation, here in which, you’re talking about Oklahoma, a state where, back in 2020, the governor signed into law what is—what’s– called an anti-red flag law, which would prohibit any local municipalities from being able to implement red flag laws which would allow, in the situation, in which a family member, another individual were to raise concerns in the specter of, that a particular individual may pose a threat to themselves or others. They could also take those guns to law enforcement.    

We do not know the current and exact situation about this particular individual, or what the exact aspects of that rifle were, but what we do know is that this individual entered the second floor of the Saint Francis Hospital, it’s a sprawling complex, yesterday afternoon.

According to law enforcement, he wasn’t acting in random acts of violence but was targeting a specific location. Although it’s not clear if the gunman was targeting one specific person at this orthopedic center, unlike Uvalde, police responded in a different manner. Police claim that they received 911 calls within 3 minutes. Within 4 to 5 minutes, the police were able get to that gunman. Andrea claims that this gunman died of self-inflicted gunshot injuries.