Inquiries launched into responses to shootings
Report: 4 deputies were on scene but remained outside
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating allegations that multiple deputies failed to enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., during the shooting rampage there, adding to the mounting internal probes examining both the department’s response to the attack and its prior interactions with the suspected shooter.
Authorities have faced criticism about the series of unheeded warning signs that preceded the Feb. 14 massacre. These warnings about Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old charged with the shootings, included multiple tips saying he could be capable of carrying out a school attack. The FBI received such a tip in January but never investigated it. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office said it received two similar warnings, but there is no evidence that either prompted an investigation.
Officials have also faced difficult questions about what happened after the shooting began inside Stoneman Douglas. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel acknowledged Thursday that an armed deputy, serving as the school resource officer at Stoneman Douglas, got to the scene of the shooting but failed to go inside, violating accepted police protocol. That deputy, Scot Peterson, a three-decade veteran of the sheriff’s office, resigned after being suspended.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office has said it is investigating how the agency responded to the gunfire that killed 17 students and faculty. Among the topics being probed, according to Israel, are allegations made by officers from another department that they saw other Broward sheriff’s deputies — not just Peterson — waiting outside as the shooting occurred.
The sheriff said Friday that his office is investigating the allegations and if they find “that our deputies made mistakes and didn’t go in, I’ll handle it like I always have.” His office did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.
According to a report, Coral Springs police officers who arrived at Stoneman Douglas said that, in addition to Peterson, they found at least three other sheriff’s deputies outside the building.
The Coral Springs police said it was “aware of media reports” but was not going to issue statements.