Sheriff: School officer failed to confront shooter

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel revealed Thursday the resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., took up a position outside the building but never went in to confront the shooter who killed 17 students and staff last week. When he learned Florida Deputy Scot Peterson failed to do his job, Israel said he was “devastated, sick to my stomach.” Peterson took up a position viewing the western entrance of the building, watching for about four minutes of the six-minute attack. Israel said Peterson should have gone into the school, confronted the gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, and killed him. Officials suspended Peterson without pay after the shooting and launched an investigation into his actions. Peterson then resigned voluntarily, Israel said. The revelations about Peterson came just hours after Coral Springs, Fla., Police Chief Tony Pustizzi admitted confusion about security camera footage complicated the initial response to the shooting. Officers thought the video offered a live look inside the school, when the footage was actually 20 minutes old. The miscommunication sent officers on a fruitless hunt for the shooter, who by then was long gone. Pustizzi insisted the problem didn’t put anyone in danger, but it didn’t help assuage criticisms about the overall law enforcement response to the shooting, with earlier reports revealing missed opportunities to stop the shooter before he attacked his former schoolmates.