Breaking News: Multiple armed officers hung back during Florida school shooting, reports say - News Paper

There were several good guys with guns outside. They didn’t help.

Several local sheriff’s deputies waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School while a shooter gunned down multiple people, killing 17, according to new reports.

Coral Springs police officers say that not one but several Broward County sheriff’s deputies waited outside the school building in Parkland, Florida, while the February 14 shooting was underway, according to reports from the Florida Sun Sentinel and CNN. At least three deputies held back from entering, police sources told the Sun Sentinel.

It has previously been reported that Scot Peterson, the deputy assigned to protect the school, waited outside the building instead of going in; Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said this week Peterson waited for four to six minutes even though he could “clearly” hear gunfire. Peterson resigned and subsequently retired after being suspended without pay.

According to CNN, Coral Springs police officers say they found Peterson and three other deputies outside the school with their pistols drawn and behind their vehicles. With direction from the Broward deputies, Coral Springs police entered the building where the shooter, later identified as Nikolas Cruz, was. Two deputies who arrived later and an officer from Sunrise, Florida, joined Coral Springs police as they went into the building. Per CNN, a report on what happened will likely be released next week.

The handling of the Parkland shooting — before, during, and after the incident — have become an increasingly important focus in its aftermath. Law enforcement failed to act at several points in time before the shooting: the FBI didn’t act on a January tip about the danger posed by Cruz, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office failed to write up a November warning about him.

President Donald Trump speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday took aim at Peterson over his inaction during the shooting. “Look, you had one guard. He didn’t turn out to be so good, I will tell you that,” he said. “He turned out to be not good. He was not a credit to law enforcement. That I can tell you.” Israel, the sheriff, said this week that Peterson’s inaction made him “devastated” and “sick to my stomach.” Asked what the officer should have done, he said, “Went in. Addressed the killer. Killed the killer.” It now looks as though he may have the inaction of more than one deputy to contend with.

There is also another layer to questions about what deputies could — and could not — have done during the Florida shooting: What it might say about the hero with a gun idea, that a good guy with a gun is what you need to stop a bad guy. Trained officers failed to stop Cruz before he killed 17 people and injured more. Now President Trump and others are advocating for arming teachers — Trump fired off a tweet suggesting it on Saturday.

Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again - a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2018

At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School 10 days ago, there were more guns, and people who know how to use them. And that wasn’t the solution.

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Breaking News: Multiple armed officers hung back during Florida school shooting, reports say - News Paper