Celebrities took to social media on Wednesday to call for gun control legislation after 17 people were killed in a tragic mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Seventeen people were killed and numerous others were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday. The suspect, a 19-year-old former student, was taken into custody following a massive police response and subsequent manhunt, CBS News reports.
In the wake of the troubling tragedy, many celebrities from around the nation spoke out, sharing their condolences and expressing their anger and sadness at yet another mass shooting.
"Heartbroken over the news of another school shooting. This is the 18th in 45 days of 2018," Reese Witherspoon tweeted. "Students & teachers shouldn't have to fear for their safety. We must do more to prevent these senseless acts of gun violence. My heart is w/ the people in Parkland, FL. Enough is enough."
"No words, no actions, no laws are enough until we end this epidemic of school shootings in our country," talk show host Ellen DeGeneres wrote. "My heart is with the students and parents of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School."
Demands for gun control reform came quickly, with many celebrities using their public platform to call for immediate change and leading the cry for political intervention.
"WHEN WILL IT BE ENOUGH?! GUN CONTROL IS NEEDED NOW," Lucy Hale tweeted. "WE ARE ALL F**KING TIRED &HEARTBROKEN FOR MORE INNOCENT LIVES LOST. IM SO SORRY THAT OUR COUNTRY CANT HELP TO PROTECT US. &I AM SO DEEPLY SICKENED THAT PEOPLE CANT STAND UP & SHOUT THAT ASSAULT RIFLES SHOULD NOT BE ACCESSIBLE."
Chelsea Handler, who recently announced that she would no longer be hosting her Netflix talk show so that she could pursue her interests in political activism, argued that real change would come if people who are outraged made sure to vote for like-minded candidates in the midterm elections in November.
"We have to elect candidates that are not funded by the NRA in November. We have an opportunity to elect candidates who won’t allow kids to go to school and get shot," she wrote. "It is disgusting how many times this has happened and Republicans do nothing. You all have blood on your hands."
Political commentator and comedian Bill Maher shared, "Heard the word 'tragedy' 100 times already about the school shooting - not really, by the classical definition: tragedy is fated and inevitable. This isn’t inevitable. This is America."
The chorus of cries for a stop to preventable gun violence echoed across Twitter throughout the day. Here is what other celebs had to say in response to the heartbreaking mass shooting:
The names of the shooting victims have not yet been released by the Broward County Sheriff's Department.
"It's catastrophic, there really are no words," Sheriff Scott Israel told CBS News.
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