Houston Mayor Calls For 'Sensible Legislation' Following Shooting

HOUSTON, TX — One day after 17 people were shot to death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the mayor of Houston released a statement as elected officials began taking political sides on the issues of gun laws and mental health.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner expressed sympathy toward the victims and the Parkland community, but also called the need for lawmakers to enact "sensible legislation and policies."

In a prepared statement, Turner wrote:

"Like others, I am heartbroken by Wednesday’s senseless violence at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people lost their lives at the hands of a teenager with an AR-15 rifle according to investigators. Yesterday’s bloody rampage was this country’s deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.

We are failing our children by not protecting them from these preventable acts of gun violence inside schools or other institutions of learning. While I offer my condolences and prayers to the victims and their loved ones, faith without works is dead. Our country and our communities must do more by enacting sensible legislation and policies, lest we grow numb to these horrific acts while we wait and wonder when the next one will take place."

Just Thursday morning at the Houston Can! Academy, a student was arrested after bringing a gun to school. He tried sneaking it past a security check in the hood of his hoodie, but the gun was confiscated. The student ran away, but was later caught. Houston Police plan to press charges.

Photo by Ismael Francisco, Cubadebate via AP