President Trump announced Thursday he is planning a trip to Parkland, Fla., the site of Wednesday’s school shooting that left 17 dead and more than a dozen injured.
“I’m making plans to visit Parkland to meet with families and local officials, and to continue coordinating the federal response,” he said in a brief speech from the White House.
Trump also called for national unity, and said the country must come together to protect children in schools and help people with mental illnesses.
“Our entire nation, with one heavy heart, is praying for the victims and their families,” Trump said.
“To every parent, teacher, and child who is hurting so badly, we are here for you — whatever you need, whatever we can do to ease your pain,” Trump said. “We are all joined together as one American family, and your suffering is our burden also. No child, no teacher should ever be in danger in an American school. No parent should ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning.”
The president said he would soon meet with the nation’s governors and attorneys general to talk about the “top priority” of making schools safer.
“This administration is working closely with local authorities to investigate the shooting and learn everything we can. We are committed to working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health,” Trump said.
In an apparent reference to the suspected shooter, Trump called for “deep and meaningful human connections” to combat the isolation of people who may have mental illness.
“Answer hate with love. Answer cruelty with kindness. We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life that creates deep and meaningful human connections,” he said.
Police say a shooter killed 17 people and injured more than a dozen others in and around the high school on Wednesday. Authorities have identified Nikolas Cruz, 19, as the suspected shooter. Cruz had recently been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and had made threatening remarks online that caused the FBI to receive a complaint about him in the months before the shooting, according to reports.
Trump took to Twitter earlier Thursday to express concern about the signs of mental illness that reportedly preceded Cruz’s alleged shooting spree this week.
“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” Trump tweeted. “Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”
