Ingraham Blasts Walkouts: 'Nothing Worse Than Using Kids to Advance Political Agenda'

Shaquille O'Neal said Wednesday he favors adding law enforcement officers to schools and inner cities rather than lawmakers moving to ban firearms.

The NBA Hall of Famer, who lives in Florida and played for the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat during his career, was asked about the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

"I actually live in Fort Lauderdale. I actually knew the sheriff, called him and told him he did a wonderful job," O'Neal told WABC Radio's "Curtis and Cosby" show.

But he said the response should be to harden schools against attackers and provide more money for law enforcement around the country.

"You put [officers] in front of the schools, you put 'em behind the schools, you put 'em inside the schools, and we need to pass information. ... I would like to see police officers in schools, inner cities, private schools," he said.

O'Neal, who was sworn in as a deputy in 2016 and said he could run for sheriff someday, doubted that new bans on firearms would be effective. He said criminals are not suddenly going to turn in their guns.

"It's not like, if you say, 'OK, these weapons are banned,' people are gonna go, 'Oh man, let me turn it in.' That's definitely not going to happen," he said.

"'Once you ban 'em, now they're going to become a collector's item and you're going to have people underground, and they were $2,000. ... I'll give you $9,000 for that gun. So, you know, we just need to keep our eyes open."

On Wednesday, students across the country walked out of school in a coordinated demonstration to call for more gun control.

Watch more above.

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