Grieving Mother Yells For Trump To 'Do Something' After Florida School Shooting

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
Updated

The mother of a student killed in Wednesday’s school shooting in Florida pleaded with President Donald Trump to “please do something” in a segment on CNN Thursday.

Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was one of at least 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appeared on CNN Thursday and made an emotional call for the president to take action in response to gun violence.

“How do we allow a gunman to come into our children’s school?” the grieving mother said in the segment, in tears. “The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my child’s door and starts shooting. Shooting her. Killing her.”

“President Trump, you say, ‘What can you do.’ You can stop the guns from getting into these children’s hands,” she continued, yelling into the camera. “What can you do? You can do a lot. This is not fair to our families that our children go to school and have to get killed.”

Alhadeff said she had just spent the last two hours making funeral arrangements for her teen daughter.

“President Trump, please do something,” she pleaded. “Action ― we need it now. These kids need safety now.”

After the shooting on Wednesday, Trump tweeted out “prayers and condolences” to the victims and their families. The following day, in another tweet, the president appeared to place blame on the shooter’s classmates for not having done more to report him earlier and prevent the atrocity.

In his first public remarks about the shooting on Thursday, Trump spoke about “the difficult issue of mental health.” The president didn’t use the word “gun” once and didn’t suggest the possibility of legislation on gun control.

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Students mourn during a community prayer vigil for victims of Wednesday's shooting.
Students mourn during a community prayer vigil for victims of Wednesday's shooting.
Mourners gather during a prayer vigil.
Mourners gather during a prayer vigil.
A woman breaks down with emotion during the vigil.
A woman breaks down with emotion during the vigil.
Vigil participants hold hands. 
Vigil participants hold hands. 
A mother tries to comfort her weeping daughter at the end of the vigil. 
A mother tries to comfort her weeping daughter at the end of the vigil. 
Mourners hug.
Mourners hug.
Alyssa Kramer, 16, gets a hug from her mother, Tonja Kramer. 
Alyssa Kramer, 16, gets a hug from her mother, Tonja Kramer. 
Daniel Journey, center, an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, at the vigil. 
Daniel Journey, center, an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, at the vigil. 
A student rests his head against his mother.
A student rests his head against his mother.
City, county and state officials release balloons in honor of the victims.
City, county and state officials release balloons in honor of the victims.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.