White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed that Congress must take action on gun legislation. "What we need from congressional Republicans is courage," she told ABC News' "GMA3" on Tuesday. "What do you say to those parents? What do you say to those families? You can't say to them, 'There's nothing else that can be done.' That's not what their job is as legislators." The "majority of Americans want common sense gun safety laws, they want to see [an] assault weapons ban. These are weapons of war," she said. "The president has done his part. We need Congress to do their part."

Hale was under a "doctor's care for an emotional disorder," Drake said, and Hale's parents "were under the impression that was when she sold the one weapon" they believed Hale owned. "As it turned out, she had been hiding several weapons within the house," Drake said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Tuesday called on federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the shooting at The Covenant School as a religious hate crime.