“Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren said. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change.”

After the chief executive of the nation’s largest health insurer was shot and killed in New York City last week, reactions poured in on social media, including support for the alleged murderer.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that she understands “the visceral response” criticizing the victim’s industry.

“The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Warren told HuffPost.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was allegedly killed in a brazen, targeted attack by Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. The shooting brought out a range of reactions, including morbid celebrations of Thompson’s death.

Warren, a longtime critic of the U.S. health care system, addressed the response to the fatal shooting of Thompson in an interview with HuffPost published Tuesday.

“Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren told HuffPost. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.”

Warren faced criticism for her remarks, and when HuffPost reached out to her again, she clarified that “violence is never the answer. Period.” However, “this system is just broken,” she said.

Mangione’s possible motive is currently unclear, but some reports on his writings hint at a hatred of corporate greed and resentment toward the health insurance industry, the Associated Press reported. The words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” were found written on the bullets at the crime, quoting a common phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims. Police have not commented on the connection.

Warren made similar comments on MSNBC, saying “you can only push people so far and then they start to take matters into their own hands.”

Senator Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, also spoke to HuffPost, calling the killing “outrageous” and “unacceptable.” But Sanders, also a progressive leader and an outspoken critic of the health care industry, echoed Warren’s sympathies.

“I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right,” Sanders said, “and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit.”