Ballistics experts will stage a reenactment of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Friday as part of a civil lawsuit filed against a sheriff’s deputy who heard gunfire on the day of the massacre but failed to run into the school.
The reenactment, which will include the use of live ammunition, will allow technicians to record the sounds of the gunfire that came from the halls of the school on Feb. 14, 2018, according to The Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of parents and family members of the students and teachers killed that day by former Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Nikolas Cruz, according to WINK-TV.
The suit claims Broward County (Florida) Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, a school resource officer, heard the shooting that went on for some six minutes from inside the school but did not run into the building to confront Cruz
Peterson said he didn’t hear all the shots and couldn’t pinpoint where they were coming from because of echoes, according to the AP.
He moved to within feet of the building’s door, according to The Sun Sentinel, and drew his gun, but then backed away and stood next to an adjoining building for 40 minutes, making radio calls.
Seventeen people were killed and 17 injured in the attack. Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty in 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison. The school is set to be demolished soon.
Peterson was acquitted in June of charges of felony child neglect for failing to enter the school and confront Cruz.
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