Trump Meeting With Santa Fe School Shooting Victims
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The topic of school shootings was front and center on President Donald Trump's agenda on Thursday.
The president was to meet with victims of the latest mass shooting, as another meeting of his school safety commission convened, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Trump went to Houston, where he will meet privately with victims of the mass shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. Eight students and two teachers were killed when investigators say the alleged gunman, 17-year-old Demetrios Pagourtzis, opened fire inside his own high school.
The president's visit comes as we're learning more about what now appears to be a premeditated murder plot in the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
Prosecutors in Florida released a video of suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, which they say he taped on a cellphone the day before and the day of the mass shooting in February that left 17 people dead at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.
"My name is Nik and I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people," the alleged shooter says on the video. "With the power of my (AR-15) you will all know who I am."
On Thursday, Secretary of Education Betsy Devos and other members of the president's Commision on School Safety were to meet in Maryland.
The topic of safety in schools was also raised during the daily White House briefing on Wednesday. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders got emotional when a 13-year-old reporter for "Time For Kids" asked what's being done to prevent more school shootings from happening.
"One thing that affects mine and other students' mental health is the worry about the fact that we, or our friends, could get shot at school. Specifically, can you tell me what the administration has done, and will do, to prevent these senseless tragedies?" Benje Choucroun asked.
"There is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe, so I'm sorry that you feel that way," Sanders replied.
Thursday will mark the third time the school safety commission has met since it was established by the president after the Parkland shooting. It will make its final recommendations by the end of the year.