Mainstream media outlets began to backtrack on Friday after writing that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) declared school shootings a “fact of life” without contextualizing the statement. The first to apologize was the Associated Press which deleted its original post and clarified that the Republican was not, in fact, washing his hands of the problem one day after a deadly shooting in Georgia.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, former President Donald Trump’s running mate lamented the latest attack which killed four and left nine critically wounded. A 14-year-old student of the school has been charged, as has his father. The AP story quotes Vance in full when he said that America must be “prepared” to address “psychos” open to committing violence in schools. “We don’t have to like the reality that we live in, but it is the reality we live in. We’ve got to deal with it,” he added. After speaking, Sen. Vance addressed journalists who asked for specifics about what policies could be implemented to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

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“I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance said. “But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools. We’ve got to bolster security so if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children they’re not able.”

After the story was posted on X, users quickly added a community note that references Sen. Vance’s quote in full, rather than a partial one suggesting he is indifferent to the crisis. “This post replaces an earlier post that was deleted to add context to the partial quote from Vance,” the AP’s account clarified.

Following the shooting, Vice President Harris stated solutions for such a “senseless tragedy” must be taken up by lawmakers. “We’ve got to end the epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” she said, according to NewsNation. President Trump, in contrast, paid tribute in his statement to the victims and their families while calling the teenage shooter a “sick and deranged monster.” He supports red flag laws, which allow certain individuals to petition a court to have a dangerous person’s weapons confiscated if they are deemed to pose a threat. Both he and Sen. Vance have called for “hardening” schools through policies like weaponized guards and even teachers. At the Phoenix rally, Vance said he does not like that schools have to be hardened, “but that’s increasingly the reality that we live in.”

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On Thursday Georgia authorities charged Colin Gray, 54, the father of 14-year-old Colt Gray, with second-degree manslaughter after allegedly providing his son with access to firearms for hunting. Last year, the FBI interviewed Colt Gray as part of an investigation into an anonymous threat posted on Discord warning about a school shooting. Conflicting evidence about the source of the post led to no action being taken against the young man.

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