PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - Members of the community are wondering if the school resource deputy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School could have stopped the tragic shooting that left 17 dead and 14 injured.
Once praised as a school resource deputy, deputy Scot Peterson is now being called a coward.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Peterson responded to the shooting in the freshman building at the high school and took up a position in a nearby stairwell. He had a gun drawn and pointed at the building, but he never went inside.
“I’m extremely upset, outraged. It’s inexcusable. I was happy to see that the sheriff dealt with it swiftly,” said Broward Superintendent Robert Runcie.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel suspended Peterson without pay. Peterson has since resigned from the force.
“He had a chance to do something, and he decided that he didn’t want to, and that’s a problem,” said survivor Samantha Fuentes.
Fuentes was in the school at the time of the shooting. She was shot in both legs and has shrapnel behind her eye.
“You made a promise to us and a promise to your community to protect and you don’t, then what are you there for?” Fuentes asked.
Although some are standing up for Peterson, many parents said he was missing times when they went looking for him in the past.
“I can’t believe it. That’s what he’s paid to do,” said parent Cindy Levine. “He wasn’t very into what was going on. I don’t know what the problem was with him. I feel like he was getting close to retirement, and he just wanted to play out his days.”
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