‘I would have run unarmed into Florida school’

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump ( pix) said on Monday he would have rushed unarmed into the Florida school targeted by a mass shooter, as student survivors of the slaughter brought their campaign for gun control to Congress.

Nearly two weeks after the attack in Parkland, Florida left 17 dead, US lawmakers reconvened after a one-week recess under intensifying pressure to address gun violence.

Trump has since called for reforms including tougher background checks on firearm purchases, but the White House has yet to announce support for specific legislation in Congress, where enacting federal gun restrictions faces major obstacles especially in an election year.

During a White House meeting with state governors, Trump said he would have felt compelled to confront the shooter.

“I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon,” Trump said. “You never know until you’re tested.” Having previously criticised an armed deputy who failed to intervene in the Feb 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Trump also branded the performance of some local law enforcement “frankly disgusting”.

The deputy, Scot Peterson, pushed back through his lawyer, saying he positioned himself outside a school building because he believed the shots were originating from outside.

“The allegations that Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue,” lawyer Joseph DiRuzzo said in a statement.

Spurred to action by the shooting, several Parkland survivors travelled to the US Capitol, where they met on Monday with top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers. – AFP