WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump was meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House when he reacted to the fatal shooting Thursday at Florida State University.
FBI Special Agents were on campus in Tallahassee investigating the shooting after two died, six victims were injured, and a 20-year-old shooting suspect was injured during his arrest.
6 p.m. report:
“It’s a shame, it’s a horrible thing,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
After a reporter asked him about gun control legislation, Trump also said that he is a big advocate of the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms.
“The gun doesn’t do the shooting, the people do,” Trump said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis released a video showing solidarity with the Seminoles. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol also responded to the campus.
DeSantis praised the response of the FSU and Tallahassee police departments and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the agency that employs the suspect’s mother as a deputy.
“This killer must and will be brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law,” DeSantis said about the role that the Leon County State Attorney’s Office.
We stand with Florida State University. Today, we are all Seminoles. pic.twitter.com/dUMW3eL48r
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 17, 2025
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi released a statement saying federal prosecutors were in communication with the FBI special agents on the ground.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers continued to release statements about the shootings on Thursday evening.
Rep. Neal Dunn, a physician and U.S. Army veteran, who represents the district that is home to FSU released a statement saying he was devastated.
“My heart goes out to the victims of this unfathomable tragedy and their families,” Dunn wrote.
Rep. Jimmy Patronis, Sen. Rick Scott, and Sen. Ashley Moody were among the lawmakers who joined DeSantis in releasing statements saying they were praying after the shooting.
“Thank you to law enforcement for taking the swift and decisive action to neutralize today’s shooter. God bless the memories of those lost and their families,” Rep. Byron Donalds wrote.
Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat, was also grateful to the first responders who worked to protect students, faculty, and staff.
“I’m keeping those injured and their families in my thoughts,” Frankel wrote.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz also said his thoughts were with those in the hospital, their families, and the FSU community.
“Students should be able to go to school without the threats of gun violence,” Moskowitz wrote.
Florida Rep. Daniel Perez, the speaker of the House, said the situation was “terrifying and every parent’s worst nightmare” and urged “everyone to pray for the students, families, faculty, first responders and all involved.”
It was all too close to home for Florida Sen. Ben Albritton, the Senate’s president.
“From our vantage point here in the Senate, we can see and hear many first responder vehicles rushing to FSU,” Albritton wrote. “Grateful for their courage. Praying for the entire FSU community.”
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