17 Killed in Florida High School Shooting

At least 17 people are dead following a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The deceased include both students and adults, law enforcement officials said.

Yesterday’s deadly school shooting is the eighth so far in 2018, just seven weeks into the year.

Students poured out of the school Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in a panic Wednesday afternoon as police stormed the building.

The suspect has been identified as Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student at the school. He allegedly opened fire using a legally purchased semi-automatic weapon. Police say he began his rampage outside of the school at around 2:40 P.M., before making his way inside. Police officials took Cruz into custody about a mile away after he fled the scene. Authorities charged Cruz with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

President Trump sent his condolences to the victims of the shooting in a Tweet that said: “No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school,” he wrote. President Trump continued early Thursday morning. “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed,” he wrote in a separate Tweet. “Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”