The Latest: Trump postpones Penn. rally after shooting
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s response to the Florida school shooting (all times local):
2:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is postponing a campaign rally next week in Pennsylvania because of Wednesday’s school shooting in Florida.
Trump’s campaign says it put off the Feb. 21 rally in Ambridge, outside of Pittsburgh, “out of respect and sympathy for the victims and survivors.”
Trump also cancelled an official trip Friday to Orlando, Florida, to highlight his infrastructure proposal. But he said Thursday he’ll make a separate trip to Parkland, Florida, to meet with families and local officials in the coming days.
Trump is scheduled to spend the weekend at his private club in Palm Beach, Florida.
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1:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is cancelling a planned trip to Orlando, Florida, on Friday after Thursday’s deadly school shooting in Parkland.
Trump is still planning a separate trip to Florida to meet with families and local officials in Parkland.
White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters says Trump will not make the trip that had been meant to promote the president’s infrastructure proposal.
He was scheduled to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.
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12:05 p.m.
President Donald Trump says in the wake of the Florida school shooting, his administration will tackle what he’s calling “the difficult issue of mental health.”
Trump isn’t mentioning gun control in his remarks at the White House. He’s urging Americans to “create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life that creates deep and meaningful human connections.”
He says the administration is working with state and local leaders “to help secure our schools” and focus on the issue of mental health.
Authorities have said the suspected shooter was getting treatment at a mental health clinic for a while, but hadn’t been there for more than a year
Trump says making schools safer will be a main issue during upcoming meetings with governors and attorneys general.
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11:36 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’ll visit Parkland, Florida, the site of Wednesday’s shooting that killed 17 people.
Trump said from the White House he’s making plans to meet with families and local officials, and to continue coordinating the federal response.
Trump called on Americans to “answer hate with love, answer cruelty with kindness,” after a troubled 19-year-old former pupil gunned-down students and teachers at the school. He tweeted early Thursday that the suspect appeared to be “mentally disturbed,” but he has not mentioned guns.
Trump said, “To law enforcement, first responders, and teachers who responded so bravely in the face of danger, we thank you for your courage.”
Trump had been planning on spending the weekend in Florida. The White House says the timing of the visit has yet to be finalized.
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11:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Wednesday’s mass shooting turned a Florida school into a “scene of terrible violence, hatred and evil.”
Trump is addressing the nation a day after the shooting that killed at least 17 people. The president was silent on the issue of gun control. Earlier Thursday, he suggested the suspect was “mentally disturbed.”
Trump says the entire nation “with one heavy heart” is praying for the victims and their families.
An orphaned 19-year-old with a troubled past and his own AR-15 rifle was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Thursday morning following the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in five years.
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9:02 a.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump will address the nation about the Florida school shooting at 11 a.m. EST.
Trump also issued a proclamation Thursday honoring victims of the shooting at the Parkland, Florida, high school where 17 were killed.
The presidential proclamation says: “Our Nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones in the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.”
The former student who opened fire Wednesday with an AR-15 rifle was charged Thursday morning.
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7:39 a.m.
President Donald Trump says it appears the suspect in Florida’s deadly school shooting was “mentally disturbed.”
Trump tweeted Thursday about the shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. A former student opened fire Wednesday with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people. The 19-year-old was charged Thursday morning.
Trump says: “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”
The president offered sympathy in a tweet Wednesday and said he spoke with Florida’s governor, but he has not addressed the nation.
Trump has cited mental health before as a cause for mass shootings, dismissing questions about gun control.