Ramaswamy switches Iowa campaign event to prayer for school shooting victims

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy rearranged his plans in Perry, Iowa, in light of the school shooting Thursday that killed one and left others hurt.

Instead of a typical campaign event in which he explains his policy views, Ramaswamy opted for a prayer event in a room just a mile away from the school where a shooter, who was a student, opened fire and shot himself after shooting others.

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“Mark my words, tomorrow, if not today, you’re going to hear calls for ‘stop the guns,’ right? That’s the problem sweeping under the rug,” Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy discouraged any “knee-jerk” political actions and instead encouraged those present to pray that “our country is still young.” The candidate offered up the prayer himself and uploaded a video of it to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Iowa’s caucuses are the first in the nation, slated for Jan. 15. As a result, Republican candidates are scrambling to perform well in the state, and Ramaswamy has just wrapped up his second tour of the state. During his prayer event, he claimed his wife, Apoorva, took two weeks of vacation time from her profession as a throat surgeon to tour alongside him.

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Ramaswamy has yet to qualify for the next presidential debate in Iowa, but his opponents, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), have. While former President Donald Trump qualifies, he has plans to host a town hall in Iowa the same night instead. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has not qualified.

A sixth grade student was killed Thursday. Four of the injured victims are also students, and the fifth victim is a school administrator. Classes at Perry High School were subsequently canceled.