The father of a victim killed at the Florida high school shooting last week raised his frustrations during a listening session at the White House Wednesday, telling attendees and administration officials that “we as a country failed our children.”
“I’m very angry that this happened, because it keeps happening,” Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was one of 17 victims in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Standing feet from the President, Pollack raised his voice at one point: “I’m pissed. It was my daughter I am not going to see again. She is not here. She is not here. She is in North Lauderdale at whatever it is, King David Cemetery, that is where I go to see my kid now.”
Pollack, who said he was speaking because his daughter couldn’t, urged the administration officials and attendees in the room to prioritize school safety. He asked how it was that America could protect airports, concerts, embassies and even the elevators at the Department of Education but not its schools.
“How many schools, how many children have to get shot? It stops here with this administration and me. I’m not going to sleep until it is fixed. And Mr. President, we’ll fix it. Because I’m going to fix it. I’m not going to rest,” he continued.
“My beautiful daughter, I’m never going to see her again. It’s simple. Let’s fix it,” Pollack said.