Sessions on school shootings: ‘We’ve got to confront the problem’

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday vowed to “confront the problem” of school shootings by looking at warning signs and enforcing existing laws, a day after at least 17 people were killed at a Florida high school.

“It cannot be denied that something dangerous and unhealthy is happening in our country and we are once again watching the images of children, terrified, streaming out of their school, hands over their heads. It’s an image we don’t need to see,” Sessions said.

He said the Department of Justice (DOJ) will take steps to ensure existing gun laws are enforced in order to reduce violence. 

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Sessions also said the DOJ will collaborate with other departments, such as Education and Health and Human Services, to study how mental health and violence intersect.

The attorney general focused on being able to better notice “advanced indications” from potential shooters and stop them before they act.

“It’s just too often the case that the perpetrators have given signals in advance,” Sessions said.

“Every one of these cases, we’ve had advanced indications and perhaps we haven’t been effective enough in intervening immediately to deal with that. I suspect it appears that we’ve seen that again in this case,” he added.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder after authorities said he opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, leaving at least 17 people dead and injuring more than a dozen others.

There have been more than a dozen school shootings since the start of 2018.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Cruz legally purchased the AR-15-style rifle he allegedly used in the shooting, who had been kicked out of the school and flagged as a threat.

President Trump on Thursday suggested mental illness played a role in the incident.

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” Trump tweeted. 

“Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”

As reports of the death toll came in, a number of Democrats called on Congress to act to curb gun violence, while Republicans shared their thoughts and prayers with the victims and their families.