Russian official ridicules U.S. over deadly Navy Yard shooting

MOSCOW A prominent member of Russia's parliament has exploited the deadly shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington to ridicule the United States.

Alexei Pushkov, who heads the international affairs committee, tweeted Monday that "nobody's even surprised anymore" by such an attack, which he called "a clear confirmation of American exceptionalism."

The mayor of Washington, D.C. said 13 people died in the shooting rampage, including the gunman.

Pushkov, who also hosts a political talk show, serves as a mouthpiece for the Kremlin's most anti-American faction.

Pushkov's initial tweet was in Russian but he later tweeted in English:

In an opinion piece published last week in The New York Times, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized America for seeing itself as exceptional. He was referring to a speech by President Barack Obama in which he said America's ideals and principles made it want to hold the Syrian government accountable for a chemical weapons attack and, "That's what makes us exceptional."