From the BBC:
“Florida school shooting:
Parkland officer arrested over inaction”
An armed officer who stood
outside a Florida school as a gunman killed 17 people has been arrested and
faces multiple charges, including child neglect and perjury. Scot Peterson, a
security guard at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, did not enter as
shots rang out last year and later resigned. US President Donald Trump called
him a "coward" for not acting. Mr Peterson said he did not know where the
gunfire was coming from. Seventeen students were killed in the massacre in
Parkland on Valentine's Day in 2018. Nikolas
Cruz, 19, a former student at the school, has been charged with 17 counts of
premeditated murder. Police have said he admitted the shooting. Soon
afterwards, authorities released footage showing Mr Peterson waiting outside
the school as the shooting was taking place. Following an investigation by the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Mr Peterson was arrested on
Tuesday on seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable
negligence and one count of perjury. The investigation showed Mr Peterson
"did absolutely nothing" to prevent the shooting, FDLE Commissioner
Rick Swearingen said in a statement. "There
can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction
cost lives," he added. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel voiced his
anger after viewing the footage of Mr Peterson remaining outside the building
for four minutes while the killings were taking place. The shooting lasted just
six minutes. "I am devastated. Sick to my stomach. He never went in,"
Sheriff Israel said, adding that he should have entered and "killed the
killer". President Trump said the officer "certainly did a poor
job" and branded him a coward. Mr Peterson maintained he believed the
shots were coming from outside the school. He told NBC that he "didn't get
it right", but added: "Those are my kids in there. I never would have
sat there and let my kids get slaughtered."
^ Peterson deserves to be
arrested for not doing his job at the school while students were being
murdered. It is clear he did not have what it took. While students and teachers
risked their lives (and some even losing them) to protect other people Peterson
stayed outside and listened to the shootings and then tried to lie about his
role after-the- fact. ^
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