Sarah Huckabee Sanders fights tears after child's question on school shootings

Young reporter asked White House press secretary about his fears of being shot at school

A child’s question about gun violence in schools produced a rare emotional moment from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

During her regular briefing with reporters, the normally stoic Ms Sanders fielded a question from a young man in the audience, identified by other journalists as a 13-year-old California student named Benje Choucroun who was reporting for Time for Kids.

“At my school, we recently had a lockdown drill”, the boy said, adding that he and his fellow students “worry about the fact that we or our friends could get shot at school”.

“Specifically, can you tell me what the administration has done and will do to prevent these senseless tragedies”?

Her voice audibly quavering with emotion as she fought back tears, Ms Sanders - who has three young children - replied that “as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying [than] for a kid to go to school and not feel safe, so I’m sorry you feel that way”.

“This administration talked it seriously”, she added, noting that a school safety commission convened by the president was meeting this week to discuss “how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools”.

The exchange drew praise from Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal, who said on Twitter he was proud the publication “has a deep bench”.

Since a school shooting in Parkland, Florida left 17 students and teachers dead, a burst of momentum towards tighter gun laws on the federal level has largely fizzled.

While Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to ban devices known as bump stocks that enable more rapid firing, he has backed away from his initial support for tougher restrictions that would be anathema to the National Rifle Association. He recently spoke at the gun group’s annual summit.

During an upcoming trip to Texas, the president is planning to meet with the families of students who were killed in a recent shooting at a Santa Fe, Texas high school.