Capital Gazette Reporter To Trump: 'I Couldn't Give A F**k' About Your Prayers

Mary Papenfuss

A shaken journalist who survived Thursday’s deadly attack at The Capital Gazette newspaper says she “couldn’t give a fuck” about thoughts and prayers if “there’s nothing else.”

Shortly after a gunman shot and killed five staffers at the Maryland newspaper, President Donald Trump tweeted:

The first lady posted a similar tweet offering “thoughts & prayers”:

In an interview with CNN on Thursday night, Capital Gazette writer Selene San Felice told Anderson Cooper what it was like to hide under her desk while the gunman opened fire. She also said the attack had left the newsroom “shaken,” but she was not interested in politicians’ well-worn platitudes.

“I’ve heard that President Trump sent his prayers. I’m not trying to make this political, right? But we need more than prayers. I appreciate the prayers. I was praying the entire time I was [hiding] under that desk. I want your prayers but I want something else,” San Felice said.

“I’m going to need more than a couple days of news coverage and some thoughts and prayers because our whole lives have been shattered,” she added. “Thanks for your prayers, but I couldn’t give a fuck about them if there’s nothing else.”

Although CNN didn’t bleep San Felice’s comments, Cooper warned viewers that the interview contained strong language.

San Felice also described feeling deja vu because she had covered the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Forty-nine people died in that attack.

“I remember being so upset hearing about the victims who were texting their families,” she said. “And there I was sitting under a desk texting my parents, telling them that I love them.”

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Also on HuffPost

Police respond to a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, at a building that contains the Capital Gazette newsroom.
Police respond to a shooting in Annapolis, Maryland, at a building that contains the Capital Gazette newsroom.
Police officers respond to an active shooter inside a building that houses the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland.
Police officers respond to an active shooter inside a building that houses the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland.
Journalist E.B Furgurson, right, takes notes with two other people as police officers respond.
Journalist E.B Furgurson, right, takes notes with two other people as police officers respond.
Police officers talk to a man outside the scene. 
Police officers talk to a man outside the scene. 
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) speaks during a press conference.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) speaks during a press conference.
Police respond to the scene. 
Police respond to the scene. 
Police gather near the Capital Gazette newspaper office.
Police gather near the Capital Gazette newspaper office.
Emergency personnel congregate outside. 
Emergency personnel congregate outside. 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.