It was just last week in Nashville, Tennessee when a gunman opened fire inside a Waffle House restaurant that resulted in four people being killed. After days of silence, the White House has finally responded in the form of a tweet by Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence on Waffle House

It happened early Sunday morning around 3:30 a.m. in Nashville, Tennessee when 29-year-old Travis Jeffrey Reinking walked into a Waffle House wearing only a green jacket and arming himself with an AR-15-style rifle.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Reinking opened fire, killing four and injuring four others before civilian James Shaw Jr. rushed at the shooter while wrestling away the weapon. Reinking then fled the scene before being captured 34-hours later by law enforcement. Since then, Shaw has refused to accept the label of a hero, despite helping to raise over $150,000 for the families of the victims.

In the days that have followed, Donald Trump has not offered a comment through Twitter or via a presidential statement. With the silence in the White House, Mike Pence took time to tweet out his thoughts on April 26.

"Tragic shooting in Tennessee earlier this week," Pence tweeted. "Thanks James Shaw Jr. for your courageous actions to save lives and your continued efforts to help others," he wrote, before concluding, "You're an American HERO!" As expected, it didn't take long before critics of the administration decided to sound off with opposition.

Twitter reacts

Following Mike Pence's tweet about the Waffle House shooting and James Shaw, those who oppose current White House made sure not to hold back with their own thoughts. "What took you so long? You have tweeted over and over again re: tax cuts and birthday wishes since then. But until now, not a single tweet about the Waffle House massacre by the white guy with the AR-15," one tweet read.

"Took your administration nearly a week to mention this. Guess it didn’t fit the agenda," a Twitter user wrote. "What took you so long, and why hasn’t the president acknowledged this hero? Oh yeah, the hero is black and the shooter is white," another tweet stated in reference to Donald Trump's silence on the issue. "What took the white house so long to recognize this hero? Trump mentions a hero French cop at his conf but no mention of our hero..could it be because he's black?" an additional tweet added.

"Took you long enough! Where's POTUS response?" a social media user wondered. "Are you just learning this????? Wanna let your boss know?" a follow-up tweet read.