Shaq pushing for more cops over gun bans to stop school shootings

NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is of the mindset that hiring more police officers will make a world of difference in lowering the number of school shootings in the United States, and maybe even prevent them altogether.

"The government should give law enforcement more money," O'Neal said Wednesday on WABC Radio's "Curtis and Cosby," according to ESPN. "Give more money, you recruit more people, and the guys that are not ready to go on the streets, you put them in front of the schools.

"You put 'em 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."

A Feb. 14 attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. left 17 dead. Stemming from the massacre, thousands of students across the U.S. began protesting in an effort to ban assault weapons and institute stricter gun laws. This included Wednesday's National School Walkout to honor the lives lost in Parkland.

O'Neal supports the kids marching to have their voices heard, but he doesn't believe banning gun is the solution, as there will always be ways for those seeking them out to get their hands on them.

"There's a lot of those weapons already on the streets," O'Neal said. "So 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.

"Cause 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."

O'Neal revealed last summer that he intends to run for sheriff in Henry County, Ga. in 2020, adding that he'd completed a police academy to get prepared.