In pre-recorded remarks to the National Rifle Association convention in Houston, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) talked about how laws restricting gun access failed to stop the gunman who shot and killed 19 children and two teachers this week at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

"There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using of firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people and peaceful communities," the governor said on Friday.

“In Uvalde, the gunman committed a felony under Texas law before he even pulled the trigger. It is a felony to possess a firearm on school premises, but that did not stop him," Abbott added.

The governor noted that the actions on the campus of the shooter, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who officials say legally bought two rifles and had more than 100 rounds of ammunition on him during the attack, amounted to capital murder. He said that would subject the shooter to the death penalty in Texas.

"Just as laws didn't stop the killer, we will not let his evil acts stop us from uniting the community he tried to destroy," Abbott said.

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The gunman was killed by law enforcement in the school on Tuesday, and now an investigation is underway as questions mount about what took so long to stop the killer. More than a dozen others were wounded on Tuesday. Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother before the school rampage, according to officials.

Abbott had been scheduled to appear at the NRA event in Houston but opted to record a video instead and returned to Uvalde on Friday, where he held a press conference.