HOUSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump spent over an hour Thursday offering private condolences to some of the families affected by this month's deadly Texas school shooting, the latest spasm of mass violence in a year marred by assaults on the nation's schools.
While in Texas, Trump's newly formed school safety commission met outside Washington, part of the president's chosen solution to combat the rising tide of bloodshed after his brief flirtation with tougher gun laws went nowhere.A White House spokesman said Trump was "moved" by the May 18 shooting at Santa Fe High School, which left eight students and two substitute teachers dead. A student faces capital murder charges in the attack.
"These events are very tragic, whenever they happen. And you know, the president wants to extend his condolences and talk about the issue of school safety," spokesman Raj Shah told Fox News Channel.
Trump, who at times has awkwardly embraced his role as the national comforter-in-chief, did not publicly share what he told the grieving families and local leaders during a meeting at a Coast Guard base outside Houston. Reporters were not permitted to witness the meeting, but Pamela Stanich, whose 17-year-old son Jared Black was among the eight students killed, was one of the parents who met with Trump, giving him a family statement and her son's eulogy.
"(Trump) met with us privately and showed sincerity, compassion, and concern on making our schools safer across the nation," she wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting. "He spent time talking to the survivors and asking on what happened and what would have made a difference. Changes are coming for the good. Thank you Mr. Trump."
Rhonda Hart,
