President Trump on Friday offered words of sorrow, solace and support for the victims of the mass shooting at a Maryland newspaper that left five employees dead and several wounded.

“I’d like to address the horrific shooting that took place yesterday at Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland,” he said in the East Room of the White House before an event highlighting his tax reforms.

“This attack shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief. Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job,” said Trump, whose relationship with the media has been rocky.

“To the families of the victims, there are no words to express our sorrow for your loss. Horrible, horrible event, horrible thing happened. When you’re suffering, we pledge our eternal support. The suffering is so great,” the president continued.

“My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to [stop] violent crime and to protect innocent life. We will not ever leave your side. So our warmest, best wishes and regrets. Horrific,” he said before proceeding with the meeting.

A twisto packing a 12-gauge shotgun walked into the paper’s newsroom on Thursday afternoon and blasted the victims, most of them journalists at the paper, with which he had a longstanding beef.

Trump’s kind words for journalists were in marked contrast to his usual rants about the “fake news media” and pronouncement that reporters are “the enemies of the American people.”

The president had also promised action to fight gun violence before, most notably after the Valentine’s Day massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, when 17 students and staffers were shot dead and another 17 were wounded by an unstable ex-student.

Meeting with lawmakers days later, Trump accused them of being terrified of the NRA and challenged them to come up with a bipartisan bill imposing some modest gun restrictions.

But Trump did not follow through, and the GOP-led Congress has not taken any action on stiffening gun laws since then.