The mother of a 14-year-old daughter shot to death in the Florida school massacre erupted Thursday during an emotional plea to President Donald Trump to end gun violence, screaming: "These kids need safety now."
"How?" Lori Alhadeff asked on CNN. "How do we allow a gunman to come into our children's school?"
Alhadeff's daughter, Alyssa, a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, was among 17 fatally shot and 14 injured in the Wednesday attack allegedly by Nikolas Cruz.
"How do they get through security? What security is there? There's no metal detectors," Alhadeff said.
"The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks on the window of my child's door and starts shooting — shooting her and killing her."
Cruz, 19, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and was being held without bond in the Broward County Jail.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz — equipped with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a gas mask, smoke grenades and multiple magazines of ammunition — allegedly opened fire around 2:30 p.m.
The school shooting was the nation's deadliest since 26 people were killed when a gunman attacked an elementary school at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.
Alhadeff then turned to President Trump's speech earlier Thursday, in which he said the nation "with one heavy heart" was praying for the victims and their families.
"President Trump, you say, 'What can you do?'" she said. "You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands.
"Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools.
"What can you do? You can do a lot," Alhadeff said, her anger rising.
"This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed.
"I just spent the last two hours putting together the burial arrangements for my daughter's funeral, who is 14.
"President Trump, please do something," she pleaded. "Do something. Action.
"We need it now. These kids need safety now."