Politicians express condolences on five-year anniversary of Parkland shooting

Politicians on both sides of the aisle expressed their condolences to the families and victims of Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting Tuesday on the tragedy’s fifth anniversary. The reactions come on the heels of another deadly shooting at Michigan State University Monday night. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) called for “a moment of silence at 10:17am” remembering the 17 lives lost in the school shooting. 

The governor also extended his condolences to the Parkland community as a whole. 

“Today, I ask all Floridians to pause for a moment of silence at 10:17am to honor the 17 innocent lives lost at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre,” DeSantis tweeted. “We will continue to honor their memory in word and in deed and extend our sympathies to the Parkland community.”

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Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called for an end to gun violence in a tribute post to both the Parkland shooting victims and the MSU community. Pelosi emphasized a non-partisan movement regarding gun legislation.

“As Michigan State University endures heartbreak on this day dedicated to love and Parkland mourns 5 years since their tragic loss, we are compelled anew to disarm hate and #EndGunViolence. We’re not going away — no one’s political future is worth more than our children’s future,” the California Democrat wrote. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., tweeted out Tuesday that he would be speaking on the Senate floor “to honor those we lost,” writing that the victims will never be forgotten, nor the tragedy that unfolded. 

Coconut Creek, Fla., police officer Michael Leonard takes a moment with his School Safety Dog Taylor, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, as he visits a memorial in front of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Fla. Leonard was the officer that stopped and arrested Nikolas Cruz after Cruz fled after he opened fire on students and staff at MSD on Valentine’s Day in 2018, killing 17.  (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

“Five years ago, 17 innocent lives were tragically taken in the senseless shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida,” Scott tweeted. “Today, I’ll be speaking on the Senate floor to honor those we lost. We will never forget them or what happened that day.”

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., shared three photos at the memorial laid out for the Parkland victims. Frost was joined by fellow congressman Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., in one photo, with Frost writing that he was “thinking about this community, the families, and my friends that survived.”

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Frost also touched upon the MSU shooting, writing that gun violence is “a pain that is all too common across this country.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James shared her condolences on Monday evening and Tuesday, shortly after the MSU shooting. James first expressed “horror” at “another shooting” on a school campus, saying she was “Keeping Michigan State and all the students in my prayers.”

Photos of the 17 people killed during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting are displayed on the fifth anniversary of the shooting on February 14, 2023, in Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Florida. On February 14, 2018, fourteen students and three staff members were killed during the shooting at the school.  (Saul Martinez/Getty Images)

James later tweeted Tuesday morning condemning gun violence and extending sympathies to the Parkland families. 

“Five years ago, 17 innocent lives were stolen in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida,” James wrote. “Today, my heart is with the Parkland community and everyone who has been impacted by senseless gun violence. #MSDStrong.”

The mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 left 14 students and three staff members dead after gunman Nikolas Cruz opened fire at the school. He had said he had picked that day in particular so the school would never celebrate Valentine’s Day again. 

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The victims in the Parkland mass shooting were Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Chris Hixon, 49; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsey, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 15. 

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table during his sentencing hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022.  (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)

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Cruz was sentenced to life in prison in early November after pleading guilty to the killings. The sentence was handed down after two days of emotional impact statements from victims’ families.