Former deputy arrested for not entering building during Parkland shooting

June 4 (UPI) -- Authorities on Tuesday arrested a former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school resource officer who didn't enter the school during a February 2018 mass shooting.

Former Broward Sheriff's deputy Scot Peterson, 56, faces seven counts of child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury after an investigation into the shooting, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced.

"The FDLE investigation shows former Deputy Peterson did absolutely nothing to mitigate the MSD shooting that killed 17 teachers and staff and injured 17 others," FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said. "There can be no excuse for his complete inaction and no question that his inaction cost lives."

During the 15-month investigation, the FDLE received full cooperation from the Broward County Sheriff's Office and all other responding agencies to interview 184 witnesses and review hours of video surveillance.

The investigation found that Peterson refused to investigate the source of the gunshots, retreated from Building 12 -- where the shooting was taking place -- and directed other law enforcement that arrived at the scene to remain 500 feet away from the building.

Peterson was suspended without pay after a review of his actions that showed he never went inside the building during the shooting. He resigned about a week after the shooting.

Then-Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said during a news conference that Peterson was inside another building at the school attending to a matter with a female student when the shooting began and remained outside Building 12 for "upwards of 4 minutes." The shooting lasted 6 minutes.

"All the facts related to Mr. Peterson's failure to act during the MSD massacre clearly warranted both termination of employment and criminal charges," Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said. "It's never too late for accountability and justice."