REP. PATTERSON STATEMENT ON AUSTIN ATTACK

(Frisco, TX) Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and families of the terrorist attack in Austin, TX. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the suspect drove an SUV around the block multiple times before unleashing a calculated attack on innocent Texans. We pray the death toll does not rise, and ask all Texans to pray for those still in the hospital.

Let me be very clear: This has all of the makings of a terrorist attack on Texas soil and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is on the ground confirming exactly that.

Senate Democrats have spent the past two weeks defunding the Department of Homeland Security; the very agency built to prevent attacks like this, and now Americans – Texans – lay dead and in critical condition at the hands of an apparent terrorist. Democrats need to wake up, stop playing politics, and fund DHS before more lives are lost.

It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that James Talarico and Jasmine Crockett are already racing to politicize this tragedy and call it anything but an act of terror.

James, Jasmine — call your fellow Democrats in the U.S. Senate TODAY and demand they fund the Department of Homeland Security. Stop the political games. Our first responders and counter-terrorism resources cannot afford another day of the DHS shutdown that Democrats have caused.

Terrorism, whether Islamic extremism or any other form, will not be tolerated in Texas. I led the charge to ban radical Islamic groups from the Texas Capitol and to designate these groups as terrorist organizations, and I’ll continue to work with Governor Abbott to ensure we keep these terrorists out of Texas.

State Representative Jared Patterson is serving his fourth term representing House District 106 in Denton County. Patterson is the Chairman of the Local & Consent Calendars Committee. He also serves on the House Committees on Licensing & Administrative Procedures, Transportation, and the Subcommittee on Transportation Funding. He and his family reside in Frisco.