May 18, 2018

Parkland Teens Speak Out Following Texas School Shooting: “You Didn’t Deserve This”

Meanwhile, Trump tweeted and later called the violence a “very sad day.”

Michael Ciaglo/AP

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Three months after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the shooting’s teenage survivors turned to offer their support to the victims of Friday’s mass shooting  at Santa Fe High School in Texas.

Authorities had just confirmed that at least eight people, most of them students, were killed on Friday morning at the high school outside of Houston. One suspect and an additional person, both students, were taken into custody. 

David Hogg, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas senior who quickly became one of the more outspoken advocates for gun control in the wake of February’s massacre, predicted a wave of lawmakers would use the Santa Fe High School shooting for their political advantage, but not act on guns.

Many on social media were quick to point out that Santa Fe students had themselves participated in rallies calling for increased gun control measures in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting, and documented their actions on social media.

President Donald Trump had a strikingly different reaction on Friday, taking to Twitter to remark that the situation in Texas was “not looking good” as law enforcement officials were still working to confirm details of the shooting. At a separate event dedicated to criminal justice reform, the president briefly lamented that school shootings have been “going on for too long,” adding that it had become a “very, very sad” day.

“We’re closely monitoring the situation and federal authorities are coordinating with local officials,” Trump said. “This has been going on too long in our country, too many years, too many decades now. We grieve for the terrible loss of life.”

Two weeks prior, Trump headlined the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, where he claimed before a roaring crowd that “Second Amendment rights are under siege.” The president’s speech eliminated any hopes that he would act on his pledge to take on the gun lobby in the wake of February’s shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Vice President Mike Pence, who introduced Trump at the NRA event, said that the Santa Fe students were in his “prayers.”

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