President Donald Trump said that the nation should takeunspecified action on mental health issues on Thursday, the day aftera shooting at a Florida high school that killed 17 people andwounded at least 14 more. He said he plans to visit the communityto meet with victims’ families.

“Yesterday, a school filled with innocent children and caringteachers became the scene of terrible violence, hatred and evil,”Trump said in a statement from the White House. “No child, noteacher should ever be in danger in an American school. No parentshould ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when theykiss them goodbye in the morning.”

He ignored a question about gun control after his statement, and saidnothing about guns or gun laws in his address.

Related: Half of post-9/11 vets aren’t getting mental healthcare

He said that the U.S. must “tackle the difficult issue of mentalhealth,” but offered no specifics.

“It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel likewe are making a difference. We must actually make that difference,”he said.

The 19-year-old gunman, Nikolas Cruz, attacked Marjory StonemanDouglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Wednesday. It was thedeadliest school shooting since 20 children and six adults werekilled in the December 2012 rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary Schoolin Newtown, Connecticut.

Authorities said the Florida shooter used a semiautomaticAR-15-style rifle that he bought legally. Similar guns have beenused in many mass shootings, including in Las Vegas last year andOrlando in 2016.

Trump didn’t immediately appear on television after theshooting, instead tweeting a series of reactions. Earlier onThursday he appeared to blame people around Cruz for not doing moreto prevent the incident.

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed,even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” hewrote on Twitter.“Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must alwaysreport such instances to authorities, again and again!”

News reports suggest that school officials, classmates and evenstrangers were concerned that Cruz could pose a threat. A teachertold the Miami Heraldon Wednesday that administrators sent an email last year sayingthat Cruz was not allowed to carry a backpack on campus. BuzzFeed News reportedThursday that a YouTube user was interviewed by the FBI afteralerting the bureau to a comment from a user named Nikolas Cruzthat read “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.”

Addressing children who may be frightened by the shooting, Trumpsaid that “if you need help, turn to a teacher, a family member, alocal police officer or a faith leader. Answer hate with love,answer cruelty with kindness.”

As president, Trump has opposed any new restrictions on gunrights. Last year he signed a bill revoking Obama-era regulationsbanning gun purchases by people who receive Social Securitydisability checks for mental illness or who have been determinedunfit to handle their own finances. President Barack Obama proposedthe rule after the Sandy Hook shooting and his administrationanticipated that it would have added 75,000 names to the nationalbackground check database.

In an interview last month with Piers Morgan, Trump defendedpermissive U.S. gun laws.

“If he didn’t have a gun, he would have a bomb, or would havesomething else,” Trump said of Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 andwounded hundreds by firing on a concert from a Las Vegas hotel roomin October, where he had stockpiled an arsenal of 55 guns.

“The point is, he would have had 55 bombs. He would have had 55of something else,” Trump said.

After the Las Vegas shooting, in October, White House presssecretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the immediate aftermath of atragedy wasn’t the time to talk about gun policy, the same stanceRepublicans including Florida Governor Rick Scott adopted afterWednesday’s shooting.

“There’s a time to continue to have these conversations abouthow through law enforcement, how through mental illness funding,that we make sure that people are safe,” Scott said at a newsconference Wednesday in Parkland, Florida, according to The Hill.He declined to address questions about gun control, The Hillsaid.

Republicans and Democrats alike in Washington discussed banninga piece of equipment Paddock used to fire more rapidly, called abump stock, after the Las Vegas shooting. But the issue soonreceded as Congress instead focused on a tax overhaul and fundingthe government, and no new gun laws have been passed.

Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.