Lawmakers visit site of Parkland school shooting before reenactment, where 17 people were tragically killed

Reenactment of Parkland Shooting to Take Place as Part of Lawsuit Against Former Deputy

In a lawsuit against former sheriff’s deputy Scot Peterson, who stayed outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the 2018 mass shooting, a reenactment of the tragedy will be conducted inside the school on Friday. At least 140 live rounds of bullets will be fired into a ballistic trap inside the three-story building where the shooting occurred. The reenactment aims to prove that Peterson heard the gunshots and knew where they were coming from, contradicting his claims that he couldn’t enter the building due to echoes. The civil action was brought by victims’ families and a survivor of the shooting.

The reenactment will use the same model of semi-automatic rifle and caliber of cartridges as the original incident. It will also include sounding the fire alarm at the same times as the day of the shooting. The event is expected to take roughly two hours, and the school will be closed for the day with no students present. A bipartisan congressional delegation, along with several victims’ families, will tour the site of the massacre before the reenactment takes place. This tour aims to provide lawmakers with a firsthand understanding of the impact of school shootings.

Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex was killed in the shooting, attended a private tour of the school last month. He expressed his anger and grief and decided to bring as many members of Congress as possible to the building. Schachter hopes that the tour and reenactment will lead to the creation of common-sense school safety legislation that prioritizes the security of children. Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, emphasized the need for continued work on mitigating such tragedies and saving lives.

The reenactment will also feature someone portraying how Peterson allegedly approached within feet of the building before retreating for 48 minutes. Plans to demolish the building are in place, but the demolition will not be completed before the start of the new school year. While families of the victims want the building demolished, they also hope it can be used as a teaching tool to prevent future tragedies. Schachter stressed the importance of prioritizing the issue of school safety to avoid further loss of life.

The reenactment holds significant emotional weight for the families of the victims and the survivors. It aims to shed light on the actions of the former deputy and the need for greater security measures in schools. By reenacting the shooting, the plaintiffs hope to prove their case against Peterson and bring attention to the urgency of preventing similar incidents in the future. The tour for lawmakers and the reenactment serve as reminders of the lasting impact of the Parkland shooting and the ongoing fight for improved school safety across the nation.

Original Story at www.cnn.com – 2023-08-04 13:03:00