Trump: I never said ‘give teachers guns’

President Trump in a series of tweets early Thursday denied that he suggested giving teachers guns to prevent mass school shootings, instead saying he would consider giving trained teachers concealed weapons.

Trump said he suggested at a White House meeting giving concealed guns to “teachers with military or special training experience,” adding that a gun free school is a “magnet for bad people.”

“I never said ‘give teachers guns’ like was stated on Fake News @CNN & @NBC. What I said was to look at the possibility of giving ‘concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience — only the best,” Trump tweeted.

“20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A ‘gun free’ school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!”

He added that “highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches” could serve as a deterrent to prevent future school shootings.

“History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes,” he tweeted. “It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!” he said.

“If a potential ‘sicko shooter’ knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there…problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!

I never said “give teachers guns” like was stated on Fake News @CNN & @NBC. What I said was to look at the possibility of giving “concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience – only the best. 20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

….immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A “gun free” school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

….History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes. It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

….If a potential “sicko shooter” knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there…problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

The tweets come after Trump held a listening session Wednesday with students and teachers who survived the Florida high school shooting last week, which left 17 people dead.

During the session, one parent brought up the controversial idea of arming teachers and administrators with concealed guns, which Trump said is “certainly a point we will discuss.”

The president also asked for a show of hands in the room to see who supports and opposes such a proposal.

“If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, that could very well end the attack very quickly,” Trump said.

“We’re going to be looking at that very strongly. And I think a lot of people are going to be opposed to it. I think a lot of people are going to like it.”

Since the Florida school shooting, students have become vocal advocates for gun control, demanding that lawmakers act to prevent future shootings.

Students who survived the Florida high school shooting last week rallied Wednesday at the state Capitol in Tallahassee to call for lawmakers to pass new laws on guns. Students from schools across the country also staged walkouts this week as a call to action and a show of solidarity.