By: Teresa Mull
The school resource officer on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida when Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people and injured 17 others, has been arrested and is in jail.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Scot Peterson, 56, was arrested Tuesday and charged with seven counts of neglect of a child, three counts of culpable negligence, and one count of perjury, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen said Peterson did “absolutely nothing” to stop the shooting, which killed 17 and injured 17 others.
“There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives,” Swearingen added.
Peterson. who came to be known as "the Coward of Broward," "will be booked into the Broward County Jail where his bond is set at $102,000," The Examiner reports.
Peterson in handcuffs getting brought to BSO jail to get booked on 11 charges @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/Z6VhXNHbU5
— Dan Krauth (@DanNBC6) June 4, 2019
UPDATE: Ex-MSD deputy Scot Peterson arrested on child neglect, negligence charges in 2018 Parkland shooting. More here: https://t.co/maZnEleL6k pic.twitter.com/OxfMfBu34e
— NBC 6 South Florida (@nbc6) June 4, 2019
The Sun-Sentinel reports:
“He should rot, that’s how I feel,” said Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was on the third floor when she died. “My daughter was one of the last to be shot. My daughter absolutely could have been saved by him and she wasn’t.”
GPM reported that in the wake of the shooting’s aftermath, The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission voted 13-1 to recommend that teachers be allowed to carry guns in schools. Florida passed a sweeping gun control package just weeks after the shooting, but last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) quietly signed a bill into law to allow public school teachers to carry firearms inside schools.
"A year after lawmakers passed sweeping gun control in a knee-jerk reaction to Parkland, I’m glad they are finally stepping up to defend our children," D.J. Parten, Director of Legislation for Florida Gun Rights, told GPM. "The only way to end these tragedies is to end the so-called ‘gun free’ zones that are magnets for criminals. In fact, 98 percent of mass shootings occur in gun free zones. In the end, Florida Gun Rights is still committed to repealing the 2018 gun control and passing solid Constitutional Carry legislation, but this bill is a step in the right direction."
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].