GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson recounted Wednesday a story about being held at gunpoint, amid backlash over comments he made about the Oregon community college shooting in which he suggested victims of the shooting could have done more to fight back.
“I have had a gun held on me when I was in a Popeye’s organization” in Baltimore, the retired neurosurgeon told Karen Hunter on Sirius XM Radio, referring to the fried chicken fast-food chain.
“Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs. And I just said, ‘I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,’” Carson.
The presidential hopeful’s telling of the encounter is at odds with a controversial answer he gave on Tuesday when asked about how he would respond to a potential gunman by Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” host Brian Kilmeade.
“Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not just stand there and let him shoot me. I would say, ‘Hey, guys, everybody attack him! He may shoot me but he can’t get us all,’” Carson had said.
Carson’s latest comments come as backlash has grown in response to his “Fox and Friends” interview.
Mathew Downing, who survived the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon after being dramatically spared by the gunman, criticized Carson’s answer on Wednesday.
“I’m fairly upset he said that. Nobody could truly understand what actions they would take like that in a situation unless they lived it,” he told CNN via Facebook.
The GOP presidential candidate has clarified the remarks he made on Fox News, saying Tuesday night on that network that he was “not judging (the shooting victims) at all.”
