Parkland School Shooting Re-enacted with Live Gunfire 5 Years After Deadly Massacre
A re-enactment of the 2018 shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was held on Friday, with live ammunition being used to simulate the event.
This came as part of a lawsuit against 60-year-old Scot Peterson, the Broward County deputy who waited outside during the February 14, 2018, Parkland shooting.
Seventeen people were killed in the Valentine’s Day massacre and 17 others were wounded. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, has been sentenced to life in prison.
On the day of the shooting, Peterson reportedly approached the school building, but backed away and instead called for backup as he waited at an adjoining building for over 40 minutes, according to CBS News.
Peterson’s defense for not rushing into the school was that he couldn’t tell which direction the gunfire was coming from.
Prosecutors previously brought criminal charges against him, alleging he ignored his duty to protect the students. He was found not guilty in June.
Former Parkland school resource officer Scot Peterson after being found not guilty on all counts. “The only person to blame was that monster.” https://t.co/TgW4eXOku5 pic.twitter.com/1y6k4rQ8sE
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) June 29, 2023
Several of the victims’ families, however, have argued that Peterson’s lack of action was simply because of cowardice, and are suing him for unspecified damages, CBS reported.
The re-enactment was apparently needed to determine whether Peterson’s defense is valid.
It lasted around five hours and took place behind the chain-link fence that now surrounds the school.
As technicians recorded the event outside the school, ballistics experts simulated the shooting by firing around 140 shots from the same types of guns used by Cruz, according to CNN. They fired the guns into a ballistic trap, according to the report.
The recording has not been publicly released and it’s unclear at this point whether it will be admitted as evidence against Peterson.
Parkland shooting victims’ families are hopeful that the reenactment will bring attention back to Scot Peterson’s case. pic.twitter.com/4UCT0IUpnU
— USA TODAY Video (@usatodayvideo) August 4, 2023
Just prior to the event, nine members of Congress and some of the victims’ families were allowed to tour the school, which was organized by Florida’s Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz and Republican Rep. Mario Diaz Balart.
“You guys coming here today just to see it, to experience it — you can read about it all day long, you can debate it all day long, but it’s not the same as going and walking through the school.”
— Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) after the Parkland school shooting reenactment today pic.twitter.com/vVHva1KIs4
— The Recount (@therecount) August 4, 2023
“To see the blood of children…in a school together is going to change the way we interact and collaborate with each other.”
— Rep. Bowman (D-NY) urges congressional leaders and the White House to hear from the families of Parkland school shooting victims after the reenactment pic.twitter.com/lqXVgy9Trd
— The Recount (@therecount) August 4, 2023
As they walked down the high school’s halls, bloodstains and bullet holes were still visible due to the school being preserved throughout Cruz’ and Peterson’s trials, CNN reported.
With both trials now out of the way, the planned demolition of the school will begin.
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