Sections
Log in
Top News
U.S. News World News Featured Voices
Odd News
Entertainment
Movies Music TV
Sports
Soccer NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Horse Racing Tennis Col. Football Col. Basketball
Photos
News Entertainment Sports Features Archives
More...
Defense Featured Science Health Archive Almanac
About Feedback
About Feedback
Search
Trending
National emergency
Netflix
SpaceX
Venezuela
Mark Consuelos
Jussie Smollett
Michael Cohen
Biggest bee
Dog church
TXT
JAXA
U.S. News
Dec. 13, 2018 / 7:27 AM

Parkland panel advises arming teachers to handle school attacks

By
Nicholas Sakelaris
Local area students participate in the National School Walkout protest for school safety, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The youth-organized protest is to bring attention to school safety, protest gun violence and to honor the 17 victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
A student from the Washington, D.C., area has "Don't Shoot" written across her palms at a sit-in protest in front of the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Local area students participate in a sit-in protest in front of the White House. Across the country, some 3,100 schools participated in the demonstration. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during the protest with students outside the Capitol. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., holds the hand of Matthew Post, a student member of the Montgomery Country, Md., Board of Education, as they speak at the rally. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York, walks with Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Calif., as they greet student protesters. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students chant "enough is enough" outside the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students rallied at the Capitol, where the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote this week on the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, the first major congressional vote on school safety since the Parkland shooting. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Inside the Capitol, the Senate Judiciary Committee was holding a hearing on school safety. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students protest at the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students participate in a "sit in" at the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
A protester holds a sign as she participates in the walkout. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Local area students march to Capitol Hill as they participate in the National School Walkout protest for school safety. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Student protesters march to Capitol Hill. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Local area students march past a poster featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as they make their way to Capitol Hill. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Local area students march to Capitol Hill during the walkout. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students protest in Washington, D.C. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Local area students protest at the National Mall. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Students and teachers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, walk out of class and gather on the sports field to protest for stronger gun control. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students and teachers gathered on the football field for a 17-minute walkout where the original song "Shine" composed by the drama club played. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students and teachers from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walk out of class and gather on the sports field to protest. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Student Koaelyn Brabcl from Westglades Middle School in support for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School walked out of class. Brabcl held up her hands with "Don't Shoot" on them after she walked out of class to protest for stronger gun control. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students walk out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in protest. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School visit the school memorial after they walked out of class to protest. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students walk out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students visit the school memorial after they walked out of class to protest. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Student activist David Hogg walks outside to protest. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
A poster showing a school hall with an active shooter is on display by the makeshift memorial at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students and teachers walk out of class and gather on the sports field at Stoneman Douglas. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Supporters hold up a sign outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students walkout of class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
A supporter holds a sign outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
A supporter holds up a sign outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Supporters hold up signs outside of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Photo by Gary Rothstein/UPI | License Photo
Students from Leadership and Public Service High School protest with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
"America's students can clearly see what the GOP cannot: Weak gun laws are at the heart of America's gun violence problem," Cuomo tweeted. "Proud to join the students at Leadership and Public Service High School." Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Thousands of students protested in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Students in New York City hold signs in protest. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Students protest with a sign that reads,"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Students participate in a "die in" by laying down side-by-side. Cuomo joined them on the ground at one point. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Students participating in the "die in." Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Students protest in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School students participate a national walkout to honor Florida school shooting victims, in Grants Pass, Ore. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School students protest. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School students participate in the walkout. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass students protest. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School student holds a sign that reads, "The scariest thing at school should be a pop quiz." Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School students protest. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Pro-gun rights advocates who are students at Grants Pass High School protest the national walkout. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
Grants Pass High School students participate in a prayer circle. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo
High School students attend a demonstration at City Hall in San Francisco. Photo by Terry Schmitt | License Photo
Students walking out of High School march to a demonstration at City Hall in San Francisco. Photo by Terry Schmitt | License Photo
High School students attend a demonstration at City Hall in San Francisco. Photo by Terry Schmitt | License Photo
High School students shout during a demonstration at City Hall. Photo by Terry Schmitt | License Photo
High School students attend a demonstration at City Hall in San Francisco. Photo by Terry Schmitt | License Photo
0 of 0

Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Teachers should be armed, schools should have better security and law enforcement needs more training to prevent massacres like the on that occurred in Parkland, Fla., this year, a special panel said in a report.

The Florida commission investigating the shooting said in a draft report it found too many doors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School unlocked, police officers didn't respond adequately to stop the attacker and the "Code Red" alarm wasn't sounded quickly enough.

The Feb. 14 shooting killed 17 and rekindled national debate on arming teachers, and other preventative measures. The panel recommended in its report that teachers be allowed to carry guns if they go through a background check and receive proper training. That would require approval by the Florida legislature.

The 407-page report does not call for new gun control laws or metal detectors or bulletproof glass. The primary blame goes to former school resource officer Scot Peterson, who the panel called "derelict in his duty" because he went outside when the shooting began.

RELATED Confessed Parkland shooter faces new charges after jailer attacked

The delay in activating a Code Red warning, combined with officers not responding fast enough, cost lives, the panel found.

The report also calls for the Broward Sheriff's Office to conduct an internal review of the performance of six deputies who heard gun shots but failed to engage the shooter. They spent time retrieving ballistic vests before confronting the gunman. The conduct, it adds, was "unacceptable and contrary to accepted protocol under which the deputies should have immediately moved toward the gunshots to confront the shooter."

"In the ideal world, we wouldn't need anyone on campus with a gun, but that's not the world we live in today," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a member of the panel, said. "One's not enough. Two's not enough. We need multiple people in order to protect the children."

RELATED Parkland, Fla., teachers, students protest reassignment of staff members

The report said security failures allowed shooter Nikolas Cruz to walk into the school with an AR-15 in a rifle bag and start shooting. He is awaiting trial on murder charges and faces the death penalty.

The report also details the confusion among responding deputies when they reached the scene. One SWAT deputy said his radio didn't work and another tried to chase the shooter into a neighborhood but was trapped by responding police vehicles. One officer described the scene on the third floor of the school as "basically like a[n] Apocalypse Now."

Not everyone agrees with the panel's recommendation to arm teachers.

RELATED After Parkland: A timeline of gun-control activism, legislation

"Teachers want to teach, not be armed for combat in their classrooms," Florida Rep. Ted Deutch said. "Law enforcement cannot push their responsibilities to make our communities safer on to civilians that should be focused on educating their students."

Commission member Max Schachter, whose son died in the shooting, cast the lone "no" vote for arming teachers. He said he's talked to many teachers who oppose it.

  • Topics
  • Parkland school shooting
  • Sheriff Grady Judd
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more UPI news and photos.

Trending Stories

Jussie Smollett released on $100K bail after arrest
Pope Francis lays out 'concrete measures' to stop church sex abuse
Kim Jong Un visit could restore old ties with Vietnam
Maduro closes border with Brazil amid aid flap
2 sons of 'El Chapo' indicted by U.S. on drug conspiracy charges

Photo Gallery

 
Beijing celebrates annual Lantern Festival

Latest News

Roman Reigns to give update on leukemia battle on Raw Monday
White House: U.S. will leave 200 peacekeeping troops in Syria
BBC orders TV series based on 'The Play That Goes Wrong'
House Democrats to raise bill Friday to stop Trump's border wall 'emergency'
Google Doodle honors 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin
 
Back to Article
/
Back to top
About UPI Contact Feedback Advertisements Submit News Tips
Copyright © 2019 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy