Administration

Trump offers condolences after ‘unspeakable violence’ at Colo. school shooting

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President Trump on Wednesday acknowledged a shooting at a Colorado math and science school a day earlier that left one dead and several others injured, sharing his condolences to those affected.

“Our Nation grieves at the unspeakable violence that took a precious young life and badly injured others in Colorado,” Trump tweeted. “God be with the families and thank you to the First Responders for bravely intervening. We are in close contact with Law Enforcement.”

The tweet marked Trump’s first comments on the latest school shooting, which took place Tuesday afternoon when two suspects entered the STEM School Highlands Ranch and opened fire. The White House had issued a statement about the shooting on Tuesday.{mosads}

Later Wednesday, the White House said the president’s daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, met privately with first responders and law enforcement officials from Douglas County, Colo.

“She delivered a message on behalf of the President that we stand with them, the Highlands Range community and the people of Colorado as they grieve and we are tremendously grateful for the bravery and swift action as they intervened to prevent even greater loss,” deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

Authorities said one student, an 18-year-old male, was killed. Eight others were injured. Children as young as 8 years old described hearing gunshots in the building in subsequent interviews.

One suspect has been identified as 18-year-old Devon Erickson. The other has only been identified as a juvenile female.

A White House spokesman issued a statement on Tuesday night thanking law enforcement and saying Trump had been briefed on the incident.

The Highlands Ranch shooting was the latest instance of violence at educational facilities and came days after two people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte last week.

The president vowed in the wake of the February 2018 shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school that he would work to curb gun violence and later formed the Federal Commission on School Safety.

While Congress passed legislation to strengthen the criminal background check system, Trump ultimately did not back universal background checks or increasing the age requirements to purchase firearms. The administration instead unveiled a series of proposals focused on “hardening” schools to prevent future shootings.

—Updated at 5:01 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Ivanka Trump

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