FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Several parents who lost their children in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School expressed their disappointment with the acquittal of the former school resource officer who, they argue, could have done more during to help save lives that day.
While Scot Peterson wept with relief as not guilty verdicts on all counts were read in court, Thursday afternoon, parents of Parkland victims appeared defeated.
Tony Montalto, who lost his daughter Gina in the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre, shared his reaction the acquittal that was handed down at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.
“His inaction contributed to the pain of our entire community, and we don’t understand how this jury looked at the evidence that was presented and found him not guilty,” he said. “How you can have 17 people dying in school, and everybody’s labeled a hero, I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the shooting, took to Twitter to react to the verdict. He wrote, “This ‘man’ is a stain on everyone that has put on the uniform. I love our police officers, but you cannot count on them to save you.”
Anger over the verdict reached the national stage. Artist Manuel Oliver, who lost his son Joaquin in the shooting, spoke with CNN on Thursday.
“Be quiet, Mr. Attorney and Mr. Scot Peterson. Keep your mouths shut, get in your cars and go to your perfect life,” he said.
When reacting to the comments from Peterson and his attorney following the verdict, Oliver did not mince words.
“They thank the Lord. Apparently, their Lord is a different lord than Joaquin’s Lord. He decided to give this guy his life back, which is not in any way, in any way comparable of losing your life,” said Oliver
Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg, the father of victim Jaime Guttenberg, is now a gun safety advocate. In a Twitter thread, he wrote, “Instead of celebration, [Peterson] should have spoken of lives lost. Instead of celebrating, he should have thought of Jaime and the reality that she made, because he didn’t even try to prevent it. My daughter is dead because Scott Peterson failed to give her the additional single second that she needed entering the stairwell on the 3rd floor.”
Tom Hoyer, who lost his son Luke in the mass shooting, also weighed in with his reaction. Like Montalto, he was inside the courtroom when the verdict was announced.
“In this case, Scot Peterson was dropped off at the very door of the building that the shooter went in, 10 feet from the door. He could have taken 10 steps forward, he could have been a hero,” said Hoyer. “Could have taken 75 square – 20 steps backward and be a coward, and he took the steps backwards. There is no accountability for this. All the evidence, all the video, it just shows that he valued his life over the lives of the people on the third floor.”
Former MSD student David Hogg, another gun safety advocate, likened Peterson to the officers of Uvalde Texas, who also stood by as a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in an elementary school in 2022.
Hogg tweeted, “Remember, even where ARE cops on campus doesn’t mean they will do a damn thing, and when they don;t, the system does NOTHING.
The cop in Parkland, like those in Uvalde, wasn’t a good guy with a gun, he was a coward with a gun.
[Expletive] Scot Peterson.”
“Someday [jurors will] be able to talk about it if they choose to,” said Montalto. “I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say, but again, this case was about the law. It was not whether or not his actions were cowardly.”
A 7News crew attempted to speak with the jurors as they left the courthouse. They did not want to talk.
As for what will become of the 1200 Building at MSD, where the shooting took place, it has remained untouched because of all the litigation surrounding the incident. However, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said, following some steps that will need to be taken, the building is expected to return to the custody of the Broward County School Board, and it will be able to be demolished.
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