Superintendent charged with perjury

The superintendent of the Florida school district where 17 students and staff died in a 2018 high school massacre was arrested Wednesday after investigators said he lied to a grand jury investigating events surrounding the shooting.

Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at district headquarters and charged with perjury in an official proceeding, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to an indictment issued by the grand jury last week, the superintendent lied when he testified before the panel three weeks ago, but it gave no specifics. The jury is investigating whether districts are following school safety laws, including those implemented after the Feb. 14, 2018, slayings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland.

Attorneys for Runcie, 59, said he plans to plead not guilty.