President Trump to Address Nation on School Shooting
(AP)–In what has become a familiar ritual of grief, President Donald Trump planned to address the nation Thursday morning about a deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school, after focusing on mental health, rather than guns, in his early comments.
The president’s address comes a day after a former student opened fire at the Parkland, Florida, high school with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 14 more. The 19-year-old was charged Thursday morning.
Trump, who did not speak publicly immediately after the shooting, weighed in on Twitter early Thursday, calling the suspect “mentally disturbed” and stressing it was important to “report such instances to authorities, again and again!” He tweeted about the shooting twice on Wednesday, expressing condolences and saying he spoke with Florida’s governor.
The president also issued a proclamation Thursday honoring the victims of the shooting. It says, “Our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones” and orders American flags at public buildings across the country flown at half-staff.
The president has dealt before with offering consolation after horrific violence. In the wake of a Las Vegas shooting in October that killed at least 58 people, Trump spoke from the White House Diplomatic Room, calling it an “act of pure evil,” and seeking to help the nation heal.
