President Trump fumes over Russia investigation as nation mourns
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As the nation mourned, President Donald Trump kept largely silent about the Florida school shooting victims and the escalating gun control debate, instead raging at the FBI for what he perceived to be a fixation on the Russia investigation at the cost of failing to deter the attack.From the privacy of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump vented about the investigation in a marathon series of tweets over the weekend.
Women's March organizers are planning a national student walkout to protest gun violence
PARKLAND, Fla. — Women's March organizers are encouraging students, teachers and their allies to walk out of schools on March 14 to protest gun violence.They're demanding that Congress take legislative action on gun control in the wake of last week's deadly school shooting in Florida instead of merely tweeting their thoughts and prayers."Students and staff have the right to teach and learn in an environment free from the worry of being gunned down in their classrooms or on their way home from school," reads the group's statement. "Parents have the right to send their kids to school in the mornings and see them home alive at the end of the day."The event is the brainchild of EMPOWER, the Woman's March youth branch, and will take place exactly one month after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Life or death main decision for school shooting suspect
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — 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.
White nationalist appears to disavow connection with shooter
PARKLAND, Fla. — A white nationalist appears to have lied to The Associated Press and other news organizations when he claimed that Florida school-shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was a member of his obscure group.Law enforcement officials have said they didn't have any evidence to support the claim that Republic of Florida leader Jordan Jereb made in interviews with several news organizations.Jereb told The Associated Press on Thursday that Cruz had participated in paramilitary drills in Tallahassee, where his group is based.
Florida lawmakers struggle with how to respond to shooting
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Stunned by a horrific shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead, the state Legislature is grappling with what to do in the aftermath.Lawmakers have just three weeks left in their annual 60-day session and normally are trying to wrap up work on a new state budget in the final days.But the shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland has revived an ongoing legislative debate about how to respond to gun violence.Democrats want the Legislature to take up gun control bills that have languished again this year, but Republican legislative leaders are talking about boosting mental health programs in Florida's public schools as well as considering measures that would bolster safety on school campuses.Gov.
Anger bubbles over at funerals for Florida shooting victims
PARKLAND, Fla. — As families began burying their dead, authorities questioned whether they could have prevented the attack on a South Florida high school where a gunman took the lives of 14 students, the athletic director, a coach and a geography teacher.At funerals and in the streets of Parkland, a suburb on the edge of the Everglades, anger bubbled over at the senselessness of the shooting and at the widespread availability of guns.
Pres. Trump meets victims during visit to Florida hospital
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump came face-to-face Friday with hospitalized victims from the horrific school shooting in Florida and offered thanks to the doctors and nurses who helped the wounded, declaring "the job they've done is incredible."Asked if he'd talked with victims, President Trump added: "I did indeed, and it's very sad something like that could happen."The president had tweeted earlier that he would meet with people "whose lives have been totally shattered."President Trump and first lady Melania Trump came to Broward Health North Hospital to pay their respects to the medical professionals who had responded to the shooting in nearby Parkland.
In many US states, 18 is old enough to buy a semiautomatic
Just months after his 18th birthday, Nikolas Cruz went to a Florida gun store to buy a weapon.
Congressional candidate defends AR-15 giveaway after Florida school shooting
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - A congressional candidate from Kansas is giving away an AR-15.Tyler Tannahill announced the raffle the day before the Parkland, Florida, shooting where a semi-automatic-style rifle was used to kill 17 people.
Did FBI miss a warning before Florida high school shooting?
The massacre at a Florida high school is again raising concerns about whether the FBI missed signs that might have stopped a mass shooting.Last fall, a Mississippi bail bondsman and video blogger noticed a comment on one of his YouTube videos that said, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." He immediately reported it to YouTube and the FBI and the next day two agents came to his office to take a printout of the comment and ask him whether he knew anything about the person who posted it.Although the commenter's username was "Nikolas Cruz" — the same name as the 19-year-old man who authorities say killed 17 people at his former high school on Wednesday — the FBI couldn't identify the poster, Robert Lasky, the special agent in charge of the FBI office in Miami, said Thursday.
Men from Sturgeon Bay arrested with 3 assault rifles in Homestead HS parking lot
MEQUON -- Two men, 19, from Sturgeon Bay, were arrested Saturday, Feb. 10 for possession of narcotics and firearms, including three assault rifles on the campus of Homestead High School -- according to a letter from the Mequon-Thiensville School District Superintendent Matthew Joynt.
Hundreds hold vigil for victims of Florida school shooting
PARKLAND, Fla. — At least 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil Thursday night for the 17 people killed in a Florida school shooting, some of the mourners sobbing openly as the victims' names were read aloud."Each name was like my heart skipped a beat," Bryan Herrera said.The 17-year old soccer player said he initially hadn't planned on attending the vigil. "I didn't think I could handle it," he said.PHOTO GALLERYDressed in the school's red color, some held flowers while others wielded signs asking for action to fight school violence, including gun control.At one point during the vigil, some in the crowd began shouting, "No more guns!
Nikolas Cruz ordered held without bond on 17 counts of premeditated murder in FL shooting
PARKLAND, Fla. — Nikolas Cruz was ordered held without bond as he made his first court appearance Thursday, Feb. 15 on 17 counts of premeditated murder -- one day after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
Gov. Walker issues statement on Florida shooting; orders flags at half-staff
PARKLAND, Fla. -- A former student opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a Florida high school Wednesday, killing at least 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets in the nation's deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.Governor Scott Walker on Thursday, Feb. 15 issued the below statement:
Peace Walk & Peace Talk: Jay-Z join Trayvon Martin's parents for rally honoring victims
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Rapper Jay-Z brought his star power to a Florida peace rally in memory of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, who would have turned 23 this month.Local news outlets report that Jay-Z joined Martin's parents onstage Saturday in Miami Gardens at the sixth annual Peace Walk & Peace Talk.
Jay-Z lends star power to Florida rally for Trayvon Martin
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Rapper Jay-Z brought his star power to a Florida peace rally in memory of slain teenager Trayvon Martin, who would have turned 23 this month.Local news outlets report that Jay-Z joined Martin's parents onstage Saturday in Miami Gardens at the sixth annual Peace Walk & Peace Talk.
No bond for suspect in officers' fatal shooting in Florida
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A suspect in the fatal shooting of two police officers in Florida will be staying in jail after a judge denied him bond Sunday, saying there was probable cause for his first-degree murder charge.Everett Miller wore handcuffs and shackles during a first-appearance hearing that lasted a minute and a half.
Suspect arrested in killing, wounding of Florida officers
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A suspect in the fatal shooting of a police officer in Florida and the grave wounding of another officer was arrested several hours after the attack in a bar, authorities said Saturday.Everett Miller faces a charge of first-degree murder for the killing of Officer Matthew Baxter and could face other charges for the wounding of Officer Sam Howard, said Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell at a news conference Saturday.During a patrol of the neighborhood south of Orlando's theme park hub late Friday, the officers got into a scuffle with Miller, who shot them, the police chief said.The officers didn't have an opportunity to return fire.Sheriff's deputies with a neighboring law enforcement agency later tracked Miller down to a bar and approached him.