Condolences to demands for action, reactions to shooting reach far, wide

Victims' relatives and student survivors called for action while the president and congressional leaders offered condolences and condemnation of the crime. Americans with close ties to past school shootings expressed distress at how little has changed. And world leaders, Olympic athletes and TV talk show hosts reacted with horror to the slaying of 17 by a lone gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida.

Here is a sample of those voices responding to the tragedy.

"You're right. I've been saying this since my mom was murdered at #SandyHook in 2012. So, is it finally time to talk #gunsense? I'm happy to share my experience with you to help brainstorm solutions."

--Erica Lafferty, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, on Twitter

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"Why is your hunting hobby more important than my niece's life? ... I don't care that Nikolas Cruz did this. If it had not been him, it would have been some other sad sick young man. I do care that he was able to legally purchase an assault weapon."

--Abbie Youkilis, an aunt of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, who was slain in the Florida shooting, in an emailed statement

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"My message to lawmakers in Congress is please take action. Ideas are great. Ideas are wonderful and they help you get re-elected and everything. But what's more important is actual action. ... Children will continue to die if we don't take a stand now."

--David Hogg, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, on CNN

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"The issue of school shooting, the issue of mass shootings, is such a complex issue. But the fact of the matter is we are the only developed nation that is not currently a war zone that is currently a war zone."

--Devon Adams, who as a student fled the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in an interview with KMGH-TV in Denver

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"We are so privileged and lucky to be doing what we are doing, and it's so sad that 17 people died in the United States. ... There's an emotional hurt. I am overwhelmed."

--U.S. pairs skater Alexa Scimeca-Knierim, who broke down in tears after her free skate performance with husband Chris Knierim at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea

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"In this moment, I am a mom of three kids that go to school and I had to talk my kids off a ledge this morning because they were afraid to go to school."

--TV talk show host Kelly Ripa on ABC's "Live with Kelly and Ryan"

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"This tragedy is something that just cannot be swept under the rug or think about it for a few hours or a few days and then it's gone. ... Everyone has to take a long look at how we treat guns and particularly those assault rifles."

--TV talk show host Maury Povich in a video posted to Twitter