A stoic President Donald Trump pledged Thursday to address mental health and school safety following the latest shooting massacre at an American school.

However, in a speech to reassure the nation, the president made no specific reference to guns or gun laws after the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

"We are committed to working with state and local leaders to secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health," the president said.

A day earlier, a troubled former student opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people and wounding 14, according to authorities. The 19-year-old suspect, Nikolas Cruz, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Trump pledged federal help to the Florida community reeling from the slayings, and said he would travel to Parkland to coordinate the federal response and meet with families. He urged Americans to answer "hate with love" and "cruelty with kindness."

"We are all joined together as one American family and your suffering is our burden also," the president said.

The shooting is the latest in a string of killings at schools in the United States in recent years. The most jarring of those took place in 2012, when 20 young children and six adults were slain at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.