- The Washington Times - Thursday, February 15, 2018

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that something has to change to prevent mass shootings.

“How can this be going on in our society? We know that something has to change here. We cannot continue to have this violence,” Mr. Scott, a Republican, said on Fox News.

Gun violence came back into the forefront of the political conversation on Wednesday after a gunman opened fire on his former high school in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people have been confirmed dead in that shooting so far, with another 15 still in the hospital.

The shooting suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

He apparently had voiced his passion for weapons and violence on social media, and was the type of teen other children as school called a “loner.” He had recently lost his mother to pneumonia and was living with family friends when the shooting occurred.

“How can anybody do something like this? I fear as though this can happen anywhere,” Mr. Scott said.

“We’re going to figure this out,” he added.

Florida also saw another deadly mass shooting in 2016 when a gunman killed 49 people inside a nightclub in Orlando.

• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide