Trump: ‘I would have run into high school even with no weapon’

DONALD TRUMP said he would have rushed inside the Florida high school where 17 people were shot dead even if he was not armed.

The US president made the comment as he said that an armed police school resource officer, who remained outside the building during the massacre on Feb 14, had “choked”.

Speaking to a group of 39 state governors at the White House, Mr Trump said: “I really believe, you don’t know until you’re tested, but I really believe I’d run in even if I didn’t have a weapon.”

He added: “I think most of the people in this room would have done that too.”

Following reports that other police officers had also failed to go in Mr Trump said it was “frankly disgusting” and added: “They weren’t exactly Medal of Honor winners.”

However, in his first public statement about the shootings Scot Peterson, the school resource officer, said it was “patently untrue” that he acted with cowardice, and suggested there had been a “gross oversimplification” of what happened.

He said an initial report mistakenly said firecrackers were being set off near the building. Mr Peterson then heard gunshots “but believed that those gunshots were originating from outside of the buildings”.

Following his training to seek cover and assess the situation in the event of outdoor gunfire he “took up a tactical position” between two nearby buildings while alerting headquarters and initiating a “Code Red” lockdown of the school, according to the statement.

Joseph Diruzzo, his lawyer, said: “Let there be no mistake, Mr Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of the 17 victims on that day, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims in their time of need.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump also suggested that there was daylight between himself and the National Rifle Association, America’s biggest gun lobby, in how to respond to the shooting.

The NRA, which has five million members, strongly endorsed Mr Trump in the 2016 election and backed him with tens of millions of dollars.

The president said he had lunch with the NRA leadership, including Wayne Lapierre, the chief executive, over the weekend and they were “great patriots”. But he added: “Sometimes we’re going to have to be very tough and we’re going to have to fight them.”

Mr Trump told the governors: “Don’t worry about the NRA. They’re on our side. Half of you are so afraid of the NRA. You don’t need to be afraid of them. They want to do something.”

The president has indicated he wants to increase the minimum age for buying a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, expand background checks and ban bump stock devices, which increase a gun’s rate of fire. The NRA is pushing back against tighter controls.

Mr Trump also indicated it should be easier to commit people for psychiatric reasons. He said: “We’re going to have to start talking about mental institutions. If we see a sicko, I don’t want them having a gun.”

He reiterated his belief that some teachers should be armed.