(CNN) Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says the recent spate of mass shootings aren’t because of access to guns, but because of “sin and evil” in the world.

The GOP presidential candidate, a former pastor, said there were “warning signals” about the shooter at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College who killed nine people and himself last week, including him being “a loner,” but no one reported them.

“We have not so much a gun problem; we have a problem with sin and evil. This is an evil thing, when people kill another person,” Huckabee said. “Whether it’s a pressure cooker or whether it’s a gun, we’re dealing with people who are either deranged or they’re very focused because they want to kill people in the name of terrorism.”

Speaking with CNN’s “New Day,” Huckabee was pressed by Alisyn Camerota on what could actually be done to prevent gun violence, if the answer wasn’t stricter rules on guns themselves.

“We need to do something that makes sense and something that actually helps,” Huckabee said.

He noted the Department of Homeland Security campaign, “if you see something, say something,” that urges people to report suspicious behavior and objects in public areas.

“That’s the basic premise I think we should all operate under,” Huckabee said, saying people should report to police if they notice behavior that is “a little bit creepy and frightening” in someone they know.

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