Deadly Florida shooting is America's 18th school shooting already in 2018

The Florida high school massacre that occurred on Wednesday is the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012. Seventeen people have been reported dead and at least 14 others have been wounded.

The attack at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is the 18th school shooting already in 2018 -- with only 45 days into the new year.

That’s according to data from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control organization. They define a school shooting as any discharge of a firearm at a school, including accidents.

The statistic includes incidents that took place at a school, whether students were involved or not, which the Washington Post argues overly inflates the number and misrepresents the data.

The 18 is more than twice the number of shootings at this time last year.

Police say 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz is the suspect. He was arrested and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Cruz was recently expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons.

This mass shooting has yet again sparked a debate in Washington about gun control. President Trump tweeting on Thursday morning, “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem.”