Gun laws in America: Florida high school shooting sees Kim Kardashian West and Ellen DeGeneres demanding change after 17 are killed

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Tom Powell15 February 2018

Kim Kardashian West and Ellen DeGeneres are among stars calling for tighter gun controls after at least 17 people were killed in a high school shooting in Florida.

A 19-year-old suspect was arrested in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day attack. He was identified as Nikolas Cruz, 19, a “troubled” boy who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

It is the 18th school shooting in the US this year and has reignited the on-going debate over gun laws in the country.

Kardashian West said: “We owe it to our children and our teachers to keep them safe while at school.

“Prayers won't do this: action will. Congress, please do your job and protect Americans from senseless gun violence.”

Boogie Nights actress Moore tweeted: "The 18th school shooting in the US since January. It is heartbreaking. What will it take to change our nation's gun laws ???"

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said: "No words, no actions, no laws are enough until we end this epidemic of school shootings in our country."

Singer Nancy Sinatra called on the Republican Party to pass "sensible" gun laws immediately.

"Seventeen more of our young people dead, killed by a shooter with an automatic weapon he had no business having," she added.

Sheriff Scott Israel said that the suspect had at least one rifle and multiple magazines.

While some fatalities were found outside the building, most were inside, he added.

The school had been placed on lockdown before the suspect was apprehended.

US President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment right to possess firearms, sent his "prayers and condolences" to the families of those who died in the "terrible" shooting.

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