"I'm hard-pressed to think of a more cynical and exploitative headline at a time of national mourning," Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told the Washington Post.
The massacre occurred in San Bernardino, Calif., at Inland Regional Center, a state-run facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. Two heavily-armed assailants dressed in tactical attire opened fire at a party located inside the building, killing 14 and wounding 17 more, according to the Los Angeles Times.
GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz responded through social media with words of encouragement shortly after the shooting was reported. "Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders in San Bernardino who willingly go into harm's way to save others," he said in a tweet.
But the subhead for the New York Daily News article, written by Rich Shapiro, called Cruz and others "cowards who could truly end gun scourge" that "continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes."