A student who survived Wednesday’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., made a plea to lawmakers to take action to prevent more shootings from occurring in the future.
“What we really need is action,” David Hogg, a senior, told CNN on Thursday. “We say, ‘Yes, we’re going to do this, thoughts and prayers,’ but what we need more than that is action. Please, this is the 18th one this year. That’s unacceptable. We’re children. You guys are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together, come over your politics, and get something done.”
Student who survived school shooting: “We need to dig out of this hole… there is something seriously wrong here. And some of our policymakers… need to look in the mirror and take some action because… without action, ideas stay ideas and children die.” https://t.co/Y42waHsOlN pic.twitter.com/sdV9P7yXSn— CNN (@CNN) February 15, 2018
Seventeen people were killed and several others were injured when Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire at the high school in South Florida.
Cruz was arrested and charged Thursday with 17 counts of premeditated murder in connection to the shooting.
Police said he had been expelled from the high school for disciplinary reasons.
“We need to dig out of this hole,” Hogg said. “We need to step out of it and take a look back and realize there’s something seriously wrong here. And some of our policymakers and some people need to look in the mirror and take some action because ideas are great, but without action, ideas stay ideas and children die.”
Wednesday’s shooting has reignited the debate over gun control, as Democratic lawmakers have begun calling on Congress to pass stricter gun laws.
But President Trump, in his first remarks about the incident, urged Americans to report concerns about unstable behavior to law enforcement.
“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!” Trump tweeted.
In response to the president’s tweets, Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said going to the police is not the only answer.
“If a solution were simple for these things, we would have found one already,” she told CNN. “And I don’t think there’s one solution. I think it takes many people and many different avenues to come to a solution, and hopefully, we never see one of these tragedies happen again in our country.”
Parkland, Florida Mayor Christine Hunschofsky responds to President Trump's tweet about yesterday's shooting at a school in her city: “If a solution were simple for these things, we would have found one already” https://t.co/25JCh7rVKc https://t.co/dotbqwr0b8— New Day (@NewDay) February 15, 2018
