- The Washington Times - Saturday, February 24, 2018

President Trump said Saturday he’ll leave it up to states to decide whether to pursue his call to arm qualified teachers and other school personnel.

“Up to States,” the president tweeted. “Shootings will not happen again — a big & very inexpensive deterrent.”

The president said that “Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus.”

Mr. Trump has been promoting the suggestion of arming school employees who are “adept” with firearms to prevent shootings such as the massacre on Feb. 14 at a high school in Parkland, Florida. In that shooting, former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, killed 17 people and wounded 15 others with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.

• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.

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