The National Shooting Sports Foundation issued a statement Thursday calling the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Florida high school "unimaginable and heartbreaking," adding that the firearms industry is ready to participate in a national conversation about how to curb future shootings.

NSSF represents gun manufacturers, ranges and retailers. The group has mostly stayed silent since the shooting, which left 17 people dead and re-energized debates about gun control and the causes of gun violence.

The firearm industry association's comments came the same day that National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre gave a fiery speech at a conservative conference in which he accused gun control advocates of promoting socialism and exploiting the deaths of students to advance their agenda. NSSF struck a more conciliatory tone in its comments, saying industry members "share the goal of all Americans in wanting to see violence in our society reduced and our communities and children made safer."

"The industry welcomes the opportunity to participate in the national conversation to find common ground that will help us all achieve our shared goal," the association said.

NSSF said it supported improving FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for firearms and launched an initiative that improved the quality of reporting by states to NICS of disqualifying records.

"NSSF has long advocated for effective solutions to help prevent access to firearms by unauthorized individuals including criminals, children and the dangerously mentally ill who cannot responsibly handle firearms," the group said.

NSSF headquarters is in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. The group's offices have been the site of protests by gun control advocates since then. http://bit.ly/2sJOcte

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