Donald Trump has boasted that he could shoot someone in the middle of a crowded street, without it affecting his popularity.
The frontrunner in the race to be named the Republican candidate for the White House, Mr Trump made the comments at a campaign rally in Iowa.
He faced an immediate backlash amid accusations of insensitivity, after a spate of killings in America has pushed the debate about gun violence to the top of the political agenda.
But when asked to clarify his comments after the rally, he refused to comment.
"I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue [New York] and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters," he said. "It's, like, incredible."
He pointed directly at a camera recording the speech and imitated pulling a trigger as he made the comments.
The business mogul has received unwavering and growing support from crowds of loyal backers among the Republican grassroots in his bid to become the next US president.
In response, many tweeters criticised Trump for his comments.
Vanessa Contessa wrote: “The leading #GOP candidate threatening gun violence as a lark?”
While Shirley Ann Adams tweeted: “Trump has gotten to the point where he should be put on a Govt. watch list. Dangerous inciteful rhetoric.”
There were a total of 373 mass shootings in the United States in 2015, an average of more than one per day.
