Florida shooting survivor pens letter to NRA on gun control

A survivor of the mass shooting at a Florida high school last week has penned an open letter to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its director, Wayne LaPierre, calling on the group to work with survivors of the shooting on gun control measures.

In the letter shared by a fellow student Wednesday, 16-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Zakari Kostzer described his experience during the attack, detailing how he heard gunshots and fled from campus to get to safety.

“Within MINUTES, 17 of my FELLOW FRIENDS, CLASSMATES, and ADULTS we looked up to, were killed by a gunman,” Kostzer wrote.

{mosads}

Kostzer noted that the accused gunman, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, allegedly used an AR-15 rifle in the shooting. Kostzer called on the NRA to “help.”

“I am not looking for your condolences or prayers. I am not looking to completely ban all firearms,” he wrote. “I am asking for your help. I am asking for your help to make sure no other family, community, or students have to go through what we went through.”

Powerful letter from Zak Kostzer https://t.co/Xgi1jmoQfj

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) February 21, 2018

The student encouraged the group to work with survivors of the Parkland, Fla., shooting “to find common ground and a solution to this issue.”

“We both know that without the support of the NRA, that change will be very difficult – but change needs to happen,” Kostzer wrote.

The teenager joins other survivors of the shooting in calling for gun control legislation in the wake of the attack, which left 17 people dead and more than a dozen others wounded.

Survivors of the shooting have traveled to Florida’s state capitol to encourage lawmakers to take up gun control reform. On Tuesday, Florida’s state House rejected a motion to consider a bill that would ban assault rifles and large capacity magazines.

Students are also planning a march later this year in Washington, D.C., to protest gun violence. Thousands of Maryland high school students rallied outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday demanding action on guns in the wake of the shooting.

President Trump expressed his condolences for those affected by the shooting and said he would “tackle the difficult issue of mental health.” He also announced Tuesday he had directed the Department of Justice to propose regulations to ban bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic guns to be modified to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute.

Trump also held a listening session on gun violence Wednesday with students and teachers at the White House.