Shooting stand-off

School walkouts threatened unless gun control laws changed

PRESSURE is growing for tougher gun control laws after a Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people.

Thousands of angry protesters in Fort Lauderdale and St Petersburg in Florida gathered Saturday to demand immediate action by legislators.

More demonstrations are planned across the country in the weeks ahead.

Organisers are calling for a 17-minute walkout by teachers and students on March 14.

The Network for Public Education announced a day of walkouts, sit-ins and other events on school campuses on April 20.

The date is the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 12 students and one teacher dead.

The rally in downtown Fort Lauderdale gave a political outlet to the growing feelings of rage and mourning sparked by the carnage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Authorities say a former student who had been expelled, had mental health issues and been reported to law enforcement, used a legally purchased semi-automatic rifle to kill students and staff.

“Because of these gun laws, people that I know, people that I love, have died, and I will never be able to see them again,” Delaney Tarr, a student at the school, told the crowd swamping the steps and courtyard at the federal courthouse.

The crowd chanted: “Vote them out!” and held signs calling for action. Some read: “#Never Again,” “#Do something now” and “Don’t Let My Friends Die.”

The rally came as new details emerged about the suspect, Nikolas Cruz.

It has been revealed from a variety of sources that Cruz was unstable and violent to himself and those around him – and that when notified about his threatening behaviour, law enforcement did little to stop it. Cruz’s mother died in November and his father died years ago.