A mother of one of the 17 students killed in Thursday’s shooting at a South Florida high school has had it with prayers and condolences.
In an gut-wrenching interview with HLN’s “Michaela” show, Lori Alhadeff spoke right to the camera, demanding President Donald Trump “do something!”
“Yesterday, on Valentine’s Day, I dropped her off at school and I said, ‘I love you,’” Alhadeff told reporter Mike Galanos. “And then few hours later I get a call that there’s a shooter at Stoneman Douglas High School and I ran as fast as I could to get there and I knew at that point she was gone. I felt it in my heart.”
“How? How do we allow a gunman to come in to our children’s school?” Alhadeff asked. “The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my of my child’s door and starts shooting, shooter her and killing her.”
That’s when Alhadeff spoke directly to the president: “What can you do? You can do a lot,” she went on to say. “I just spent the last two hours putting the burial arrangements for my daughter’s funeral, she’s 14.”
“President Trump, please do something!” she implored.
The president was criticized for failing to addressing the shooting in southern Florida on Wednesday that left 17 dead, including Alhadeff’s daughter, Alyssa.
Trump did offer his “thoughts and prayers” in a tweet Thursday morning. He later addressed the shooting in a speech from from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, urging children across the country to seek help if they feel “lost, alone, confused or even scared,” but did not address the issue of gun laws.
So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2018
“I want to speak now directly to America’s children, especially those who feel lost alone confused or even scared. I want you to know that you are never alone, and you never will be,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, a former student unleashed a hail of bullets on a south Florida high school, killing at least 17 adults and children, according to authorities.
Flags will be flown at half-staff through Monday in honor of victims at a public school outside Boca Raton. The suspect is on suicide watch, his attorney told reporters Thursday.
Watch the full HLN interview above.