WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters): US President Donald Trump lashed out at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), describing its failure to follow up on a tip about the Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz as "very sad", the media reported.
The FBI has said that it failed to act on information about the 19-year-old Cruz, who slaughtered 17 people on February 14 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, reports CNN.
The shooting reignited demands for tougher gun laws, with student survivors gathering in Fort Lauderdale earlier on Saturday to criticise Trump and other lawmakers for their inaction. But Trump shifted blame to the FBI, saying it was devoting too much time to investigating his presidential campaign.
An AP report adds: Pressure is growing for tougher gun-control laws after a mass shooting at a Florida high school, with thousands of angry protesters at state rallies demanding immediate action from lawmakers, and more demonstrations planned across the country in the weeks ahead.
Organizers behind the Women's March, an anti-Trump and female empowerment protest, called for a 17-minute, nationwide walkout by teachers and students on March 14. The Network for Public Education, an advocacy organisation for public schools, announced a day of walkouts, sit-ins and other events on school campuses on April 20, the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 12 students and one teacher dead.
Plans for the protests circulated widely on social media on Saturday, as students, parents, teachers and neighbors gathered to express their grief over the fatal shooting of 14 students and three staff members at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Hundreds showed up at rallies in Fort Lauderdale, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, and in St. Petersburg, 250 miles (400 kilometers) northwest, to demand action on gun-control legislation.
"The fact that we can't go to school and feel safe every day, when we're supposed to feel safe, is a problem," said Fabiana Corsa, a Florida high school student who attended the Fort Lauderdale gathering.
Corsa said legislators were "sacrificing students" in order to get money from the National Rifle Association.
The crowd at the rally chanted: "Vote them out!" and held signs calling for action. Some read: "#Never Again," "#Do something now" and "Don't Let My Friends Die."
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