Trump tweets that Florida shooter was 'mentally disturbed'

President Trump on Thursday reacted to the deadly high school shooting in Florida that killed 17 people, tweeting: "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"

The tweet about the 19-year-old suspect, identified by police as Nikolas Cruz, was written as a "reply" to Trump's tweet from Tuesday about congressional negotiations on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, although there was no obvious correlation:

Cruz, who was adopted, had apparently been living with a friend's family after the death of his mother three months ago, from the flu and pneumonia, CNN reports. He had also reportedly made social media posts like "I [wanna] shoot people with my AR-15" and had legally bought the firearm used in the attack after passing the background check within the past year.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up