Washington (AFP) – A “gun free” school is nothing but a “magnet” for criminals, President Donald Trump said Thursday, a day after proposing to train and arm some teachers to keep US schools safe.

“Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!” Trump tweeted.

At a White House meeting late Wednesday with survivors of a shooting rampage at a Florida high school that killed 17 people, Trump suggested arming a select group of teachers to deter mass shootings.

“I never said ‘give teachers guns’ like was stated on Fake News @CNN &@NBC,” Trump tweeted.

“What I said was to look at the possibility of giving ‘concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience – only the best. 20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to

…immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions.

“Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A ‘gun free’ school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!”

At the Wednesday meeting, billed as a “listening session,” Trump also promised “very strong” background checks on gun owners.