Florida shooting: Trump says he'd 'run in there' even without a weapon

US President Donald Trump has said that he would have run into the Florida high school to help as he criticised the officers who were outside at the time of the mass shooting earlier this month. He said they “weren’t exactly medal of honour winners.”

“I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon,” the POTUS said. He also pointed out that the officers' performance was “really a disgrace.”

The February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people.

The POTUS spoke as lawmakers returned to Washington after a recess amid escalating debate over gun laws. The recent shooting forced Congress to contend yet again with the issue.

Trump criticised Scot Peterson, the armed school resource deputy who reportedly waited outside the high school as the shooting transpired. Trump called him a “ coward” and someone who “doesn’t love the children, probably doesn’t know the children.”

Peterson’s camp released a written statement through his lawyer on Monday, explaining that he did not enter the building because he believed the gunfire was coming from outside. He was suspended with no pay and eventually resigned.

“Mr Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of the 17 victims,” attorney Joseph DiRuzzo wrote. He said the allegations that Peterson was a coward and that his performance failed to meet the standards of police officers are not true.

The president has injected himself into the national gun debate in the 10 days since the mass shooting. Trump defended his proposal that teachers in schools must be armed and trained to use firearms. He told governors not to fear the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Trump also stressed the need to fortify background checks in a lunch meeting with Wayne LaPierre, the executive director of the NRA, top official Chris Cox and other NRA officials, ​Politico reports. The NRA backs a bill that would make changes to strengthen the background checks system.

Meanwhile, US First Lady Melania Trump expressed support for the demonstrations that have unfolded after the school shooting. She said she is heartened to see children across the country using their voices to speak out. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said that the POTUS supports the student protesters as well.