GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker called Thursday for better mental health treatment in the wake of the Virginia shootings and dismissed Hillary Rodham Clinton's call for tighter gun control as a political response.

"It's unfortunate that all too often we've seen from people like Hillary Clinton a political reaction to something that's much more sophisticated and challenging than that," Walker said.

The Wisconsin governor, seeking to set himself apart in a crowded Republican field being dominated by others, was asked about the shooting following a campaign stop at a coffee shop. Walker was completing a two-day swing through seven small towns in rural western Iowa.

Clinton, who made her comments Wednesday outside of Des Moines, said that if guns weren't so readily available, perhaps carnage like the killings of WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward by a disgruntled former employee could be prevented.

Walker, has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association.

"The common thread we see in many of these cases is a failure in the system to help someone who is suffering from mental illness," Walker said.

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