Tears and hugs as community holds candlelit vigil for the 17 killed in Florida shooting

Thousands of people gathered in a Florida park for a candlelit vigil in honour of those killed and injured in a school shooting.

At least 8,000 students, parents and members of the community met at Pine Trails Park, near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on Valentine's Day.

Those gathered wept and hugged as they remembered the 14 teenagers and three adults killed in the attack.

At one point, the crowd began chanting "no more guns" and "enough is enough".

Grieving father Frank Guttenberg spoke, telling those gathered that he couldn't remember if he had told his daughter Jaime, 14, that he loved her before she died.

“I sent her to school yesterday, and she was supposed to be safe,” he said in a tearful speech.

“My job is to protect my children, and I sent my kid to school."