Donald Trump has floated the idea of arming US teachers, intensifying a fierce debate over how to prevent school shootings after last week’s massacre in Florida.
“Our schools are soft targets. We need to harden the targets so that the potential murderer knows that that is not going to happen. I think we need to get started right away,” the president said during an emotional listening session on Wednesday with survivors of the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and the parents of children killed by gun violence.
In the Florida attack, 17 students and teachers were killed with an AR-15 assault rifle. Former pupil Nikolas Cruz has been charged with multiple counts of premeditated murder over the Valentine’s Day tragedy.