Bevin Appears to Blame Shooting on Teacher Sickout

Kentucky's Republican governor has connected a girl's shooting with a school closing caused by teachers who called in sick to rally at the state Capitol.

Gov. Matt Bevin said Thursday a 7-year-old girl was shot by an older child on a day when people were "pretending to be sick when they weren't sick."

Bevin's remarks at a civic luncheon appeared to refer to a March shooting in a Louisville suburb. The Courier Journal reports a girl and her 11-year-old brother were in their home alone while their uncle was outside. Public schools in the county were closed that day due to a teacher sickout.

Last year, Bevin asserted without evidence that a child left home alone during a teacher sickout had been sexually assaulted somewhere in Kentucky. He later apologized.