Former Army officer and witness to Texas mall shooting who calls himself a 'gun lover' says mental health isn't the problem: 'We need more gun control'

• Former Army officer who rushed to scene of mass shooting in Allen, Texas says US needs gun control.
• Steven Spainhouer said he's a "gun lover" but that "this is going to keep happening" without stricter laws.

A witness to the deadly mass shooting at a Texas mall on Saturday said he's a "gun lover." Then he called for more gun control.

Steven Spainhouer, who said he is both a former police officer and a former Army officer, rushed to the scene of the shooting on Saturday, arriving even before emergency responders.

"When you get hit with an automatic weapon fire at close range, there is no opportunity for survival," Spainhouer told MSNBC. "I don't know what the gunman's problem was, but it wasn't mental health that killed these people. It was an automatic rifle with bullets."

A gunman opened fire inside Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday, killing eight people and injuring seven others before a police officer who happened to be nearby shot and killed him. Police have not yet identified the gunman or his motivations.

In a statement calling for stricter gun regulations, President Joe Biden said the gunman used an "AR-15 style assault weapon."

The shooting in a town north of Dallas came about a week after five people were killed in a shooting in Cleveland, a Texas town north of Houston.

Politicians resistant to gun control have blamed the prevalence and severity of American mass shootings on mental health – despite reports that only a small portion of violence is tied to mental illnesses.

"I'm a gun lover. I have guns. I'm a former police officer. I'm a former Army officer. But these M-4s, AR-15s, they've got to get off the streets, or this is going to keep happening," Spainhouer said on Sunday. "We've got to stop that at some point."

"All the politicians are going to make statements. They're going to offer prayers and condolences," Spainhouer said. "Prayers and condolences won't bring these people back. We need some action in our legislatures at the federal and state level for better gun control. And I'm saying that as someone who loves guns."