Report on Parkland shooting finds failures to warn about gunman
Ten months after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, we're seeing for the first time video from the school's interior security cameras. The Sun Sentinel newspaper obtained the video as part of its investigation into the mass shooting that killed 17 students and staff members.
The Sun Sentinel said the video shows moments where opportunities to end the chaos may have been missed.
It shows the moment shooter Nikolas Cruz entered a stairway in the school and, while loading his semi-automatic rifle, warns a student who happened to walk by. Cruz told the student, according to a draft of the official report by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Health Commission, "you better get out of here, something bad is about to happen."
The report said the freshman student fled and immediately told the football coach, who did not issue a Code Red. It was one of three instances, the report concluded, in which monitors didn't warn the school there was an active shooter.
Cruz was left to make his way through the school to the third floor, where students were gathered in a hallway after a fire alarm went off. The shooting lasted eight minutes, leaving 17 dead.
For the first time, Cruz is seen running away from the school. At this same time, deputies believed he was still in the school because they were watching surveillance videos that were on a time delay.
Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the shooting. reacted to the new video. He tweeted, "This minute by minute playback with so many missed opportunities for intervention is heartbreaking," and called for the resignation of officials in charge.
The commission's draft report called for improved training for deputies and educators, and it also recommends a controversial proposal of arming teachers who undergo propoer training and background checks. The final version is expected to reach the governor's desk next week.