Trump Calls Florida Shooting a Shame, but Signals No Shift in Gun Laws

President Trump said on Thursday that the shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee that killed two people and injured six was a “shame,” but suggested that it would not prompt him to support any new gun control legislation.“These things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting — the people do,” Mr.Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“It’s, you know, a phrase that’s used probably too often.I will tell you that it’s a shame.”His remarks came in response to a reporter who asked if he wanted to make any changes to the country’s gun laws in light of the shooting.

Mr.Trump replied that he would “always protect the Second Amendment.”“As far as legislation is concerned, this has been going on for a long time,” he said.

“I have an obligation to protect the Second Amendment.I ran on the Second Amendment.”Mr.

Trump said that he was very familiar with the school and the area.The university is about 400 miles from Mar-a-Lago, Mr.

Trump’s residence in Palm Beach.On Thursday, a 20-year-old student at the school shot and killed two people and injured six others, the police said.The gunman, Phoenix Ikner, is the son of a deputy in the local sheriff’s department, and was taken into custody after being shot by the police, officials said.While the shooting may not have changed Mr.

Trump’s position on gun laws, his administration was already expected to roll back an array of gun control measures.The Justice Department also plans to create a path for people with criminal convictions to own guns again, and has threatened investigations of states it perceives to be violating Second Amendment rights.Since Mr.

Trump took office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is tasked with stemming the spread of illegal guns, has been weakened by staff departures and by the diversion of agents from core duties to immigration enforcement....