Florida takes gun protest to streets

Trump slams FBI

PARKLAND, Fla, Feb 18, (Agencies): Thousands of angry students, parents, teachers and neighbors of a Florida high school where 17 people were killed demanded that immediate action be taken on gun-control legislation, insisting they would not relent until their demands were met.

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

In St. Petersburg, on Florida’s Gulf Coast 250 miles (400 miles) northwest of Parkland, hundreds of people gathered in a park, where they lit candles in memory of the victims and called for legislative action on the state and federal level to end gun violence.

Meanwhile, the evidence against the Florida school shooting suspect is so overwhelming, the only question left for the courts if he is convicted is whether he will be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

The fate of 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who faces 17 counts of first-degree murder in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, will depend on his mental state and the wishes of the victims’ families, which have a say in how the prosecution proceeds.

Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, whose office is representing Cruz, said there were so many warning signs that Cruz was mentally unstable and potentially violent that the death penalty might be going too far. Finkelstein said Cruz would likely plead guilty if prosecutors opt not to seek the death penalty.

US President Donald Trump slammed the FBI for failing to heed signs that could have prevented the Florida school shooting, charging the agency was too preoccupied with probing his campaign team over Russian election meddling.

“Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable,” he wrote on Twitter.

Cruz