'Is this shocking to you?': Fox News anchor gives weary speech on the inevitable 'thoughts and prayers' after mass shootings

Fox News

Fox News anchor Shepard Smith.

• Fox News anchor Shepard Smith continued to scrutinize the lack of legislative action following the weekend's back-to-back mass shootings in the US.
• Immediately after the Parkland shooting that killed 17 people in 2018, a visibly frustrated Smith questioned why the country was "failing our children" after it could not "figure out why this happens in our country."
• Smith's tone in his monologue on Monday shifted from scorn to exhaustion following the Dayton shooting that killed at least 9 people, and the El Paso shooting that killed at least 22 people.
• "Yet again in America," Smith said.
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Fox News anchor Shepard Smith continued to scrutinize the lack of legislative action following the weekend's back-to-back mass shootings - the country's 251^th so far this year - in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.

Immediately after the Parkland shooting that killed 17 people in 2018, a visibly frustrated Smith questioned why the country was "failing our children" after it could not "figure out why this happens in our country."

Smith's tone in his monologue on Monday shifted from scorn to exhaustion following the Dayton shooting that killed at least 31 people, and the El Paso shooting that killed at least 22 people.

"Is this shocking to you?" Smith asked his viewers. "Debilitating or unimaginable? Or is it one of those things that happens yet again in America? Sadly routine. After all, the Gilroy Garlic Festival was just last week. Remember that? Remember the details of that one? They do, in Gilroy."

"You remember something of many, maybe, as a cable news viewer," Smith added. "Likely not all 251 just this year. But survivors will tell you, 'You never forget, if you saw the killer up close, smelled the blood when it was over. Or buried your child.'"

Read more: We're 'failing our children': Fox News anchor rebukes US following Parkland shooting

Smith's criticism of legislative inaction differed from Republican leaders and other conservative commentators on his network, many of whom were quick to focus on suspected mental illnesses and the shooting suspects.

In a speech on Monday, President Donald Trump avoided calls for gun law reform, and instead, homed in on reforming mental health laws "to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence."

But the response from Congress and White House was not enough to placate the Fox News host.

"You can't forget, ever," Smith said. "Each time, we hear kids cry, parents pray, and politicians promise. Then, it happens, yet again in America."

"'Time for action, I promise,' thoughts and prayers," Smith added. "We hear you. We heard you last time. And the time before that. And we will likely do it all soon. Yet again in America."

Law enforcement officials have charged the El Paso gunman with capital murder. The 21-year-old gunman may face domestic terrorism and hate-crime charges after a racist manifesto was discovered by investigators, officials said.

Investigators have not yet determined a motive for the Dayton shooting, according to CNN.

Both gunmen wielded semi-automatic weapons.