Reenactment of Parkland Shooting to Take Place in Florida High School
In a civil lawsuit against a former sheriff’s deputy who failed to enter the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the 2018 mass shooting, a reenactment of the tragic event will be conducted on Friday. The reenactment will involve firing at least 140 live rounds of bullets inside the three-story building where the shooting took place. The purpose of the reenactment is to demonstrate that the former deputy, Scot Peterson, heard the gunshots and knew where they were coming from.
Peterson, who was found not guilty in June of criminal charges, argued that he did not enter the building because he could not determine the source of the gunshots due to echoes on the campus. However, the victims’ families and a survivor have brought a civil action against him, claiming that he ignored his training and failed to confront the shooter.
The reenactment will also feature the same model of semiautomatic rifle and caliber of cartridges used during the shooting. It will also include sounding the fire alarm at the same times as on the day of the incident. The reenactment is expected to take approximately two hours.
The school will be closed for the day, and no students will be on campus during the reenactment to ensure their safety. Prior to the reenactment, a bipartisan congressional delegation, along with several families of the victims, will tour the site of the massacre. This visit aims to raise awareness about the need for prioritizing school safety and to gather support for common-sense school safety legislation.
Max Schachter, father of one of the victims, hopes that the reenactment will help the jury understand that Peterson could not have only heard a few shots when around 70 gunshots were fired inside the building. He also wants the reenactment to highlight the importance of using the building as a teaching tool to prevent future tragedies. Plans to demolish the building are in place, but the Broward County School District has stated that the demolition will not be completed before the start of the new school year.
The reenactment serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating events that unfolded in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018. It is a stark reminder of the urgent need for effective school safety measures to be implemented to protect students and prevent future tragedies.