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Trump says 'hundreds more' might have died in Texas shooting if gun laws were tougher

"It's not going to help," Trump says of stricter gun laws.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with U.S. and Japanese Business Leaders at the U.S. Ambassador's residence, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, in Tokyo. Trump is on a five country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with U.S. and Japanese Business Leaders at the U.S. Ambassador's residence, Monday, Nov. 6, 2017, in Tokyo. Trump is on a five country trip through Asia traveling to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.Read moreAndrew Harnik / AP

SEOUL, South Korea – President Donald Trump on Tuesday asserted that tougher gun laws would not have stopped the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, last weekend and in fact "hundreds more" would have died had another man not been able to "neutralize" the alleged killer with a gun of his own.

Asked during a news conference here whether he would entertain "extreme vetting" on guns, Trump appeared irritated by the question and suggested it was not appropriate to talk about "in the heart of South Korea."

He then answered by saying "if we did what you are suggesting it would have made no difference three days ago." Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire with an assault rifle killing 26 people in a church. Another man, Stephen Willeford, later grabbed his own gun and exchanged fire with Kelley outside the church. Police found Kelley dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound but authorities said Willeford helped stop Kelley and called him a "hero."

Trump referred to Willeford as a "brave man" and said "if he had not had a gun, instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead. . . It's not going to help."

Trump was answering questions after a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who also participated in the news conference. Reporter Ali Vitali of NBC News followed up by asking Trump if he would consider any other gun control measure.

"Look at the city with the strongest gun laws our in our nation – Chicago," Trump replied. "Chicago is a disaster, a total disaster. If this man did not have a gun or rifle it would have been a much worse situation in the great state of Texas."