Giffords gun group raises $1.2M after Florida shooting: report

The gun control advocacy group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) reportedly raised more than $1.2 million in the week following the deadly shooting at a South Florida high school. 

The Daily Beast reported Thursday that more than 43,000 people contributed to the group over the past week. The average donation was about $27. 

The flood of donations came in the days after a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, near Fort Lauderdale. That attack left 17 people dead and 14 others injured. 

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The accused shooter was identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school. He has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

The shooting reignited an intense national debate over gun control, with Stoneman Douglas students emerging as some of the most vocal advocates for new gun restrictions.

The group announced Tuesday that it would target Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, with a six-figure ad buy hitting him for “repeatedly siding with the gun lobby.”

Giffords, who was critically injured in a mass shooting in 2011, has become a leading advocate for tighter firearms restrictions. She and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, have worked together on a number of initiatives aimed at advocating for new gun control laws through their gun control group named after her.