Donald Trump has addressed the ‘terrible’ shooting at a university in Florida, but ultimately doubled down on his ‘obligation’ as president using a ‘phrase used too often’.
Yesterday (April 17), a person with a gun opened fire at Florida State University, killing two and injuring at least six others, according to investigators.
A FSU student named Phoenix Ikner is accused of the shooting, the 20-year-old reportedly the son of a police officer and having used his mom’s former service weapon.
US President Donald Trump was asked during a press conference at the White House’s Oval Office about the shooting, the POTUS reflecting: “These things are terrible.”
Trump then went on to issue a controversial nine-word sentence to do with him being ‘a big advocate of the Second Amendment’, noting ‘from the beginning’ he’s ‘protected it’.
Trump argued: “The gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do. It’s a phrase that’s used probably too often.
“I will tell you that it’s a shame I’m just hearing about it now, I know the area very well, I know the school very well. And we’ll have more to say about it later, we’ll see what happens.”
When asked about what he meant by ‘see what happens,’ Trump said: “Only in terms of what happens as far as legislation’s concerned, this has been going on a long time.”
He ultimately resolved to reporters in nine words: “I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment.”
“I ran on the Second Amendment – on many other things – and I will always protect the Second Amendment.”
And it’s not taken long for people to weigh in online.
Trump’s comments have been controversial (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A Twitter user said: “If guns aren’t the problem, why do countries with fewer guns have fewer mass shootings? If people are the problem, why not support laws that keep guns out of dangerous hands?”
“Bro picks and chooses what parts of the constitution he wants to follow,” another added.
A third commented: “‘The gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do,’ he says, like someone defending a haunted blender after it diced the neighbor.
“This man would trip over a rake, sue gravity, and still blame the Constitution.”
A fourth said: “I’m a gun owner. People need to understand that 2A & common sense gun laws can coexist, it’s not partisan & no one is coming for our guns.”
While a fifth said: “You can be pro-gun, pro-2A, and pro-gun legislation.”
The suspect of the university shooting was shot and taken to hospital where it’s reported he is being treated for ‘serious but non-life-threatening injuries,’ according to Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
The motive for the attack remains unclear and the names of those who’ve passed away have not yet been publicly released.
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