Wilfredo Lee / AP
A newly-released timeline of the deadly school shooting last month in Florida details the chaotic and disjointed law enforcement response to the attack at Marjory Stoneman High School, and reveals that officers did not enter the building where students were gunned down until more than 11 minutes after the first shots were fired.
By that time, suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz had already fled.
The records weave together information from the school's security video, the Broward County Sheriff's Office, the Coral Springs police and fire department, documenting the tense, frantic minutes between 2:21 and 3:40 p.m., when the 19-year-old arrived on campus that Valentine's Day, allegedly opened fire on his former classmates and teachers, killed 17 people, and slipped out a stairwell before he was arrested several blocks away.
The timeline chronicles in real-time the chaos and uncertainty responding law enforcement officers faced while making decisions, as well as difficulties communicating, navigating multiple channels, and coordinating arriving deputies and police officers.
The dispatch records and video not only confirm previous reports that school resource officer Scott Peterson remained outside the building while the shooting was occurring, they also show that the deputy told other officers to stay away even as he repeatedly radioed that he heard "shots fired" from that location.
"We’re talking about the 1200 building," Peterson told the dispatcher at 2:24 p.m., right after Cruz allegedly opened fire and pulled the fire alarm to send scores of students out into the hallways. Yet, Peterson remained outside that building throughout the shooting.
The timeline also suggests that other deputies who arrived at the school after Peterson called for help refrained from entering the building, violating the department's active shooter policy.
A few minutes later, Coral Springs police arrived on scene to "a bunch of kids" spilling out of the school. Peterson told the police dispatcher to "make sure no one comes inside the school." That same minute, Cruz tossed aside his rifle in a stairwell and ran outside. Five seconds later, Peterson told arriving reinforcements to take caution and steer clear of the building where he had heard gunfire.
It wasn't until 2:32 p.m., 11 minutes after Cruz allegedly first opened fire, that four Coral Springs police officers finally rushed into the building. Two Broward County deputies assisted them with the “rescue effort to extract a victim," although the agency had already been at the scene.
Students are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Here's a detailed timeline of what happened on Feb. 14:
2:19 p.m.: Cruz arrives in an Uber. Two minutes later, he enters building 12 and begins firing.
2:23 p.m.: Peterson leaves his post at the administration building and heads straight toward building 12, alerting the Broward County Sheriff of "possible shots fired" at that exact location.
At that minute, he parks himself at the corner of the building for the rest of the afternoon, video shows, calling for more units, repeatedly warning of shots fired, and notifying arriving back-up officers to "get the school locked down, gentlemen."
At 2:24 p.m., two Broward County deputies stated that they were "shutting down" the west and east side entrances of the campus. Two others said they were heading that way. One
2:25 p.m.: Peterson tells deputies, “All right... We also heard it’s by, inside the 1200" building. Another deputy reports that he hears shots "by the football field," which the dispatcher relays.
2:26 p.m.: Peterson states, "we're locking down the school right now." At that moment, Coral Springs Police dispatcher "confirms active shooter" and that 911 lines are "blowing up" about the shooting. This is also when Cruz allegedly fired multiple rounds through the third floor window.
Right after, at 2:27 p.m., Peterson warns his fellow officers to stay away from the scene while video shows Cruz at the same minute running down a stairwell and fleeing the building.
"Stay at least 500 feet away at this point," Peterson said, just five seconds after Cruz dropped his AR-15 rifle in the third floor stairwell and made his way outside.
Heeding Peterson's command, the dispatcher told deputies to "stay away from 12 and 1300 building."
These actions, as well as those of the other deputies who arrived on scene minutes after the shooting began, appear to violate the sheriff's active shooter policy, which advises deputies to engage an active shooter and eliminate the threat.
Sheriff Scott Israel has skewered Peterson, who has since resigned, for doing "nothing" during the school massacre. Israel has also been under intense scrutiny for his agency's response to the massacre. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is currently investigating his leadership.
This is when Coral Springs Police arrive on scene. Thirty seconds later, video shows Cruz in the stairs, tossing aside his weapon, and then exiting the west side of the building.
2:28 p.m.: A Coral Springs dispatcher radios out the first description of Cruz as officers ask for more details and position themselves around the school. Meanwhile, on the Sheriff's channel, deputies already on scene are calling in descriptions of wounded students, "a child down," a "victim with a gunshot to the right leg," as authorities seek information on the whereabouts of the shooter.
WSVN / Via Giphy
The chaotic seconds continue to tick by as authorities attempt to work together and locate a young man in a hoodie, possibly carrying an AR-15 or AK-47 style rifle, with multiple dispatchers ping-ponging descriptions and possible locations.
At 2:29 p.m., Coral Springs Police meet Peterson near building 12, "getting info." A Broward County Deputy asks "where the shooter is," to which another replies, "we don't know, but we're heading in the building, building 13," however, they were unable to enter because it was locked.
"We need to get units in here so we can start trying to find this guy," one deputy states. Twenty seconds later, school security video records Cruz "on the southwest part of campus."
Another asks for bolt cutters to help free a student who got stuck in a fence while fleeing. Officers and deputies call in information of victims, ask if there is a perimeter set up, to which a dispatcher replies, "that's negative." A minute later, Peterson states that the school is "in a total lockdown," while another unit asks if the Middle School has been secured.
2:32 p.m.: Four Coral Springs officers enter the building while two Broward County deputies help with rescuing victims. For the next few minutes, teams flood the building, some using golf cards to transport victims in a golf cart.
2:48 p.m.: Walmart security video captures Cruz entering the parking lot. The 19-year-old makes his way to a McDonald's restaurant.
Then, at 3:40 p.m.: Cruz is apprehended by a Coconut Creek police officer.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2GaiEje
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