--- title: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Florida Shooting Transcript description: Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that the U.S. "must reverse these trends" and vowed to increase gun prosecutions. canonical: https://time.com/5160368/florida-school-shooting-jeff-sessions/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-15T16:21:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:18:18.274Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'We Must Confront This Problem.' Read Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Florida School Shooting og:description: "We are going to take action. We must reverse these trends." og:url: https://time.com/5160368/florida-school-shooting-jeff-sessions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3192687bdb36bf/698927cabc6cfcfcb63e5097/gettyimages-917494600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: On Abraham Lincolns birthday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks in the Lincoln Hall of Union League of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, on February 12, 2018. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'We Must Confront This Problem.' Read Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Florida School Shooting twitter:description: "We are going to take action. We must reverse these trends." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e3192687bdb36bf/698927cabc6cfcfcb63e5097/gettyimages-917494600.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'We Must Confront This Problem.' Read Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Florida School Shooting > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 15, 2018 4:21 PM UTC  On Abraham Lincolns birthday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks in the Lincoln Hall of Union League of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, on February 12, 2018. On Abraham Lincolns birthday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks in the Lincoln Hall of Union League of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, on February 12, 2018. NurPhoto—NurPhoto via Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Feb 15, 2018 4:21 PM UTC Jeff Sessions said that the Justice Department will make responding to school shootings a priority. Speaking to the Major County Sheriffs’ Association Thursday, the attorney general said that the U.S. “must reverse these trends” and vowed to increase gun prosecutions. “It cannot be denied that something dangerous and unhealthy is happening, and we are once again, watching the images of our children— terrified— streaming from their school with their hands above their heads,” he said. “When parents, once again, go to sleep in fear that their kids will not be safe when they leave for their school bus in the morning. We must confront this problem.” Sessions was speaking one day after a gunman [killed at least 17](http://time.com/5158678/what-to-know-about-the-active-shooter-situation-at-florida-high-school/?xid=homepage) and injured 14 students at Marjory Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It was the [18th school shooting](http://time.com/5159039/florida-school-shooting-parkland/?xid=homepage) of this year. The suspected shooter, 19-year-old [Nikolas Cruz](http://time.com/5159134/who-is-the-florida-shooter-parkland-nicolas-cruz/?xid=homepage), was taken into custody about an hour after fleeing school grounds. Read Sessions’ full remarks as prepared for delivery. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5160368/florida-school-shooting-jeff-sessions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5160368/florida-school-shooting-jeff-sessions/"},"headline":"'We Must Confront This Problem.' 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