PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) – As families begin burying their dead, authorities are questioning whether they could have prevented the attack on a South Florida high school where a gunman took the lives of 14 students, the athletic director, a coach and a geography teacher.
At funerals and in the streets of Parkland, anger bubbled over at the senselessness of the shooting and at the widespread availability of guns. A rally to support gun-safety legislation was scheduled for Saturday at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.
During the funeral for 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, her father looked down at his daughter’s plain pine coffin and screamed in anguish as Gov. Rick Scott and 1,000 other mourners looked on.
Maria Creed is overcome with emotion as she crouches in front of one of the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, that were placed for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Creed’s son, Michael Creed, is a sophomore at the school. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, has been jailed on 17 counts of murder.
___
Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida.
___
Follow the AP’s complete coverage of the Florida school shooting here: https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting .
People comfort each other at a public memorial for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People pay homage with flowers and candles for the 17 deceased students and faculty from the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Mourners leave the funeral of Meadow Pollack, a victim of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with several counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
People pay homage with flowers and candles for the 17 deceased students and faculty from the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Family and friends console each other as they arrive for the funeral of Meadow Pollack, a victim of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A young girl and a woman embrace as they leave a funeral service for Alyssa Alhadeff at the Star of David Funeral Chapel in North Lauderdale, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Alhadeff was one of the victims of Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
People arrive before a funeral service for Alyssa Alhadeff at the Star of David Funeral Chapel in North Lauderdale, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Alhadeff was one of the victims of Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.