Bush, who plans to meet with black ministers in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday, said identifying potentially violent people before they commit such crimes is a better approach than further restrictions on gun ownership.
"We as a society better figure out how we identify these folks long before they feel compelled to take up a gun and kill innocent people," the former Florida governor said at a town hall meeting.
Afterward, he told reporters gun control was an issue that should be sorted out at the state level.