Guns not reason for US shootings, problem ‘spiritual’: Donald Trump's ‘theory’

Donald Trump: "This is a social problem. This is a cultural problem. This is a spiritual problem,” Donald Trump said.

Former US President Donald Trump said that mass shootings is "not a gun problem" while addressing an annual meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Indianapolis, Indiana, asserting that mental health issues, transgender community and marijuana use were the reason behind deadly mass shootings.

Donald Trump On Gun Violence: Former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Convention in Indianapolis.(AP)

“Our hearts were shattered by news of the monstrous attack on a Christian elementary school in Nashville. We wrap those beautiful families in our love and we lift them up in our prayers. We also salute the law enforcement heroes who ran into danger and took out that killer with speed and skill that made us all very, very proud,” Donald Trump said.

"Its a scandal and a tragedy that year after year, Democrats in Washington continue to hold common-sense school safety measures hostage to their radical gun control agenda, which in virtually all cases would do nothing to prevent attacks by demented and disturbed individuals," he added.

The former president also claimed that school shootings had never been talked about "until around the year 2000."

“Our country has been chock-full of guns for centuries, and there was no talk of massacres of schoolchildren until around the year 2000. That's when it really started, they started talking about it. This is not a gun problem. This is a mental health problem. This is a social problem. This is a cultural problem. This is a spiritual problem,” Donald Trump said.

If elected President again, Donald Trump promised to roll back existing gun laws and arm teachers and put security guards "at the entrance of every school in America."

"I will ask Congress to repeal totally ineffective legislation that makes it harder to protect our schools and easier for criminals to face absolutely no opposition when they go in," he said.