Bullets rained down on the panicked students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High for four minutes while the armed deputy hired to protect the school stood outside.
It’s the latest in a string of unflattering revelations. The adults in charge of protecting the world from shooter Nikolas Cruz failed again and again.
School resource officer Scot Peterson’s glaring cowardice throws a wrench into plans to arm school guards across the country. Critics can now rightfully say that even having a “good guy with a gun” isn’t always enough to stop mass shootings.
“I think he remained outside for upwards of four minutes,” Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Thursday.
“I’m devastated. Sick to my stomach. There are no words… These families lost their children. We lost coaches. I’ve been to the funerals, I’ve been to the homes. … I’ve been to the vigils. It’s just — there are no words.”
Peterson should have entered the building and attempted to engage the shooter. Instead, he merely set up a position outside while innocent students and teachers were gunned down.
Peterson, who was suspended without pay after the incident, has resigned.
“He trained his whole life,” Trump said of the disgraced deputy.
“But when it came time to get in there and do something, he didn’t have the courage or something happened. But he certainly did a poor job, there’s no question about that.”
People are appalled. No one is required to risk their lives for others, but Peterson actively signed up for the role. He was armed and in uniform when Cruz killed 17 people and injured 15 more.
“This law enforcement officer should have done everything in his power to save these innocent children,” a spokesman for Gov. Rick Scott said.
“The governor believes the students and the families who lost loved ones deserve to know exactly what happened. He wants answers.”
(Source: Daily Mail)