As a deputy director for the FBI's national security branch and an ex-CIA agent, Philip Mudd has interviewed terrorists and is considered a counterterrorism expert.
And still, Wednesday's school shooting in Florida left him in tears.
Mudd, a CNN counterterrorism analyst, was speaking to Wolf Blitzer when he got emotional.
"I have 10 nieces and nephews who are talking about bump stalks," he said. "We're talking about legislation. A child of God is dead. Cannot we acknowledge in this country that we can't --- we cannot accept this."
He continued before breaking down in tears: "I can't do it, Wolf, I'm sorr— We can't do it."
Mudd's emotional response was in reaction to Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. There have been 17 confirmed fatalities. The shooter was a former student who was expelled for disciplinary issues.