Several students at the Florida high school where a gunman killed nearly 20 people Wednesday took to social media in the aftermath of the shooting to criticize Republican leaders and media personalities for their response to the United States’ latest mass shooting
Most of the student’s anger was directed at President Trump. On Thursday morning, Trump suggested that the suspected shooter was “mentally disturbed” and should’ve been reported to police more, but made no mention of potential gun control measures.
Some students at the school criticized Trump on social media, with one telling Trump to be quiet “unless you are going to do something about gun control.”
Nikolas Cruz, 19, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Thursday morning after authorities said he opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than a dozen others.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Cruz legally purchased the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle he allegedly used in the shooting. Cruz had been kicked out of the school and flagged as a threat.
The students also responded to conservative media personality and Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren, who pushed back on calls for gun control after the shooting by writing that it “isn’t about a gun it’s about another lunatic.”
“I was hiding a closet for 2 hours,” one student responded on Twitter. “It was about guns.”
A number of students and teachers from the school did interviews late Wednesday in which they called on Congress to act to curb gun violence.