Shaquille O'Neal on Parkland Shooting: Put More Police Officers in Schools
Retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal said more cops is the answer to school shootings, rather than a ban on guns.
"The government should give law enforcement more money," he said. "Give more money, you recruit more people, and the guys that are not ready to go on the streets, you put them in front of the schools. You put 'em in front of the schools, you put 'em behind the schools, you put 'em inside the schools, and we need to pass information. ... I would like to see police officers in schools, inner cities, private schools."
The Hall of Famer made the comments in an interview with host Rita Cosby from WABC Radio's "Curtis and Cosby" show. O'Neal lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, not far from Parkland, where the Feb. 14 high school shooting that killed 17 people occurred. The shooting sparked a renewed call for gun control.
O'Neal said last year he is planning a run for sheriff in 2020, and the NBA legend became a reserve police officer in Florida.
"There's a lot of those weapons already on the streets," O'Neal said. "So it's not like, if you say, 'OK, these weapons are banned,' people are gonna go, 'Oh man, let me turn it in.' That's definitely not going to happen.
"'Cause once you ban 'em, now they're going to become a collector's item and you're going to have people underground and they were $2,000. ... I'll give you $9,000 for that gun. So, you know, we just need to keep our eyes open."
But O'Neal supports the upcoming March for Our Lives that will protest gun violence in schools.
"I wish I could join 'em, but you know, hopefully it sends a message to the powers that be," he said. "'Cause we have to stop this. ... I would like to see tougher background checks. If you can't protect our children in school, where are they safe?"
