President Donald Trump has visited a Florida hospital to thank medical professionals who helped the wounded in a horrific high school shooting, coming face-to-face with first responders in the deadly assault.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived at Broward Health North Hospital on Friday to pay their respects to doctors, nurses and others who responded to the shooting in nearby Parkland.
They planned later to meet with law enforcement officials at the Broward County Sheriff's office.
The president tweeted earlier that he would meet with people "whose lives have been totally shattered".
Some of the parents, survivors and others affected by the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have angrily called for firm action to prevent future assaults.
"I don't want Trump to come, but we want more gun safety," said 18-year-old Kevin Trejos, a senior at the school.
The president made the trip to meet with first responders shortly after Air Force One arrived in West Palm Beach for the president to spend the weekend at his Palm Beach estate, about 65km from Parkland.
More than 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil on Thursday night near the school, and at one point some began chanting, "No more guns! No more guns!"
Lori Alhadeff's 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was killed and invoked the president's 11-year-old son, Barron, as she angrily called for help.
"President Trump, Barron goes to school. Let's protect Barron. And let's also protect all these other kids," she told CNN, her voice rising to a shout.
"You need to help us, now. We need security now for all these children. We need action, action, action!"
Trump, who frequently boasts about his support for the National Rifle Association, made no mention of gun violence or any new measure to restrict access to firearms during remarks on Thursday about the shooting.
Rather, he promised to tackle school safety and "the difficult issue of mental health".
He also tweeted on Friday that he was "working with Congress on many fronts," though he offered no details.
Police say the 19-year-old suspect, Nikolas Cruz, opened fire with an AR-15 rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 14 more.
Investigators described him as a troubled teenager who posted disturbing material on social media and had been expelled from the high school for "disciplinary reasons," Broward County, Florida, Sheriff Scott Israel said.
The profile photo on Cruz's Instagram account showed a masked face wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat like those associated with Trump's campaign.
The shooting was the nation's deadliest at a school since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, more than five years ago.
Australian Associated Press