Former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Nikola Cruz, 19, took the lives of 17 people after he opened fire with a legally owned AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.
President Trump issued a proclamation ordering American flags to be flown at half-mast through Monday to honor the victims of the mass shooting. But when the GOP posted a photo of the white house, saying, "We're with you, Florida," it was not wholly embraced on Twitter.
The social media kickback originates with the resentment over the administration's unwillingness to impose stricter gun control laws.
Lori Alhadeff, the mother of one of the students killed in the mass shooting, told CNN, "President Trump, you say, 'What can you do?' You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands! Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools!"
What can you do? You can do a lot! This is not fair to our families and our children [to] go to school and have to get killed!
The president insisted the problem was mental health issues, suggesting that Cruz was "mentally disturbed," while addressing the shooting in a tweet.
The lack of a discussion on gun control frustrated Twitter.
Lowering flags may be a protocol, but it's not enough.
Many people blame the GOP for ongoing gun violence.
Prayers and condolences only offer so much.
What's the outlook for the future?
But government action is long overdue.
Cruz legally purchased the semiautomatic rifle that he used in the shooting and kept it locked in a cabinet at home.
Cruz's attorney told the Associated Press that there were a lot of 18- and 19-year-olds in the area with firearms. "This is about something went seriously wrong with this kid, and no one can explain it right now."
In September, YouTube user Ben Bennight reported on a comment left on one of his videos to the FBI. A "nicolas cruz" wrote, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter."
H/T - HuffingtonPost, CNN, Time, Twitter, TheHill
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@ShannonMFHill/X
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social