Students return to Florida school
HEALING CONTINUES AFTER FATAL SHOOTING THAT KILLED 17 EARLIER THIS MONTH
Students at a Florida high school where 17 of their classmates and staff members were killed returned Sunday to gather their belongings thrown down in panic during the school shooting nearly two weeks ago.
Thousands of students joined their parents in walking past the three-storey building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where the Feb. 14 massacre took place. It is now cordoned off by a chain link fence that was covered with banners from other schools showing their support.
“Just seeing the building was scary,” freshman Francesca Lozano said as she exited the school with her mom. Still, she was happy to see her friends. “That made it a lot better.”
Seventeen people dressed in white costumes as angels stood by a makeshift memorial outside the school before moving near the entrance. Organizer Terry Decarlo said the costumes are sent to mass shootings and disasters so the survivors “know angels are looking over them and protecting them.” Many of Sunday’s angels were survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando where 49 people died, Decarlo said.
The school reopens Wednesday and administrators said families would get phone calls about details later. Sunday was a day to ease into the return.
“Two of my best friends aren’t here anymore,” said freshman Sammy Cooper, who picked up the book bag he had dropped as he saw the accused gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, begin shooting. “But I’m definitely going to school Wednesday. I will handle it.”
Junior Sebastian Pena said the gathering was a chance to see friends and his teachers, and to “come together as a family.”
Earlier Sunday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office said he had asked Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen to investigate the law enforcement response to the shooting. The agency confirmed it would start the investigation immediately.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has come under withering scrutiny after the revelation last week that deputy Scot Peterson who was on the scene did not go in to confront Cruz during the attack. His office is also facing backlash for apparently mishandling some of the 18 tipster calls related to the suspected shooter. The tips were among a series of what authorities now describe as the clearest missed warning signs that Cruz, who had a history of disturbing behaviour, posed a serious threat.
Israel defended his leadership Sunday and said investigators were looking into claims that three other deputies were on the scene but failed to enter the school when the chance to save lives still existed. To date, the investigation has pointed to only one deputy being on the grounds while the killer was present, he told CNN.