‘The people of Israel stand with the people of Florida and all America in grief this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,’ Rivlin posted on social media.
By: United with Israel Staff
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday conveyed the Jewish State’s condolences to the people of Florida and all Americans following a massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre. Nikolas Cruz, 19, equipped with a gas mask, smoke grenades and multiple magazines of ammunition, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 17 people and sending hundreds of students fleeing.
“The people of Israel stand with the people of Florida and all America in grief this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” Rivlin posted in social media.
A few hundred Jewish teenagers attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas. According to Rabbi Mendy Gutnick, youth director at Chabad of Parkland, the school is at least 40 percent Jewish.
Several of the victims were Jewish, according to media reports. One was identified as Jamie Guttenberg. Her brother Jesse, also a student there, survived and made it home.
Another Jewish victim, Ben Wikander, is among 14 wounded survivors being treated at a local hospital.
Authorities offered no possible motive for the massacre, except to say that the shooter, an orphan, had been kicked out of the high school, which has about 3,000 students. Students who knew him described a volatile teenager whose strange behavior had caused others to end friendships with him, AP said.