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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 27 February 2018
Attorney: Deputy thought gunfire was from outside school

outside of the buildings." committee met Monday
Following his training to to consider raising the age
seek cover and assess the for buying a gun from 18 to
situation in the event of out- 21 and imposing a three-
door gunfire, he "took up a day waiting period for all
tactical position" between gun purchases. The meet-
two nearby buildings while ing room was packed with
alerting dispatchers and people an hour before the
initiating a "code red" lock- hearing was set to start,
down of the campus, the and when security guards
statement said. refused to let more people
"Radio transmissions indi- inside, more than 100 on
cated that there was a the outside chanted, "Let
gunshot victim in the area us in!" On the steps of the
of the football field," add- state Capitol, gun-control
ing to his belief that the supporters kept up their
shooting was outside. protests. Former Miami
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's of- Beach Mayor Philip Levine,
fice has asked the Florida now a Democratic can-
Department of Law En- didate for governor, led
forcement to investigate a rally of more than 1,000
the police response, and people, calling for a ban
Pat Hagen, from Gainesville holds up an orange to symbolized the exit wound from an AR 15 at the agency confirmed it on assault rifles and criticiz-
the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center before marching to the Florida Capitol for the Rally in Tally in would begin the probe im- ing the National Rifle Asso-
Tallahassee, Fla., Feb 26, 2018. mediately. ciation for its proposal to
(AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser) Meanwhile, a state Senate arm teachers.q

By KELLI KENNEDY, vene.
BRENDAN FARRINGTON "Let there be no mistake,
CURT ANDERSON Mr. Peterson wishes that he
PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — The could have prevented the
sheriff's deputy assigned untimely passing of the 17
to guard the Florida high victims on that day, and his
school that was the scene heart goes out to the fami-
of a mass shooting never lies of the victims in their
entered the building to time of need," attorney
confront the suspect be- Joseph DiRuzzo said in the
cause he believed the statement.
gunfire was coming from The sheriff's account of Pe-
outside, his attorney said terson's actions that day
Monday. was a "gross oversimplifica-
Scot Peterson has been tion" of the events, the at-
called a coward and worse torney said.
for failing to act during the The sheriff's office declined
massacre that killed 17 to comment, explaining
people at Marjory Stone- that Peterson's conduct is
man Douglas High School. being investigated by its
The criticism intensified internal affairs division. Un-
Monday as President Don- der state law, the agency is
ald Trump blasted the dep- prohibited from discussing
uty and other officers who the matter until that investi-
were there, saying they gation has concluded.
"weren't exactly Medal of Speaking to a group of
Honor winners." governors at the White
If he had been present, House, Trump said: "You
Trump said, he would have don't know until you're test-
raced into the school dur- ed, but I think I really be-
ing the attack even if he lieve I'd run in there even if I
were unarmed. didn't have a weapon. And
Peterson's attorney, issuing I think most of the people in
his first public statement this room would have done
about the attack, said it that, too."
was "patently untrue" that Peterson's statement said
the deputy failed to meet he and a security special-
sheriff's department stan- ist ran to the scene at first
dards or acted with cow- word of the shooting, a re-
ardice at the scene of the port that mistakenly said
Feb. 14 assault. He resigned firecrackers were being set
after Broward County Sher- off near one building. He
iff Scott Israel said he felt then heard gunshots "but
sick to his stomach over believed that those gun-
his deputy's failure to inter- shots were originating from