Trump wants social media companies like Facebook to develop tools for detecting mass shooters before they strike

Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump.

• President Donald Trump urged social media companies to develop tools for identifying mass shooters before they attack.
• The comments were part of Trump's remarks addressing two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.
• He said he is directing the Department of Justice to work with local and state agencies as well as social media companies to "develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike."
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President Trump on Monday urged social media companies to create tools for identifying mass shooters before they attack.

Trump said he is directing the Department of Justice to work with local and state agencies as well as social media companies to "develop tools that can detect mass shooters before they strike." The comments came as part of the remarks he delivered on Monday in response to two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.

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Twenty-two people were killed in a shooting that took place in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday, and nine were killed in a Dayton, Ohio, shooting on Sunday.

"We must recognize that the internet has provided a dangerous avenue to radicalize disturbed minds and perform demented acts," Trump said during the speech, which aired on CBS News. "We must shine light on the dark recesses of the internet and stop mass murders before they start."

Read more: An online message board that's been repeatedly linked to mass shootings is facing renewed scrutiny in the wake of two deadly shootings

The suspected gunman behind the shooting in El Paso is believed to have published a manifesto on the website 8chan before the attack. It marks the third mass shooting to be linked to 8chan, an online image board known for fostering toxic, hateful content that calls itself the "darkest reaches of the internet."

President Trump did not specify what such tools would entail or how they would work, but stressed the importance of identifying early warning signs.

"The perils of the internet and social media cannot be ignored," he said. "And they will not be ignored."