ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA -- The Latest on the commission that is investigating the Florida high school massacre (all times local):
6:10 p.m.
The panel investigating the Florida high school massacre is recommending that teachers who volunteer and undergo extensive background checks and training be allowed to carry concealed guns on campus to stop future shootings.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission voted 13-1 Wednesday to recommend the Legislature allow the arming of those teachers, saying it’s not enough to have one or two police officers or armed guards on campus.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the commission’s chairman, pushed the measure, saying that most deaths in school shootings happen within the first few minutes, before officers responded.
Seventeen people died in the Feb. 14 attack. Suspect Nikolas Cruz stopped five times to reload.
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3:45 p.m.
The commission investigating the Florida high school massacre has given tentative approval to several recommendations for school security statewide that members believe will make future campus shootings more difficult.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission gave its nod Wednesday to recommendations calling for all schools to have single points of entry, that open gates be staffed, that all classroom doors remain locked and that every district have active shooter policies and staff training.
The panel also recommended that teachers have intercoms in their classrooms and that districts allow law enforcement agencies access to school video feeds.
The commission was formed after the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead. It must file its initial report to Gov. Rick Scott, incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature by Jan. 1.
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10:50 a.m.
A Florida judge has refused to dismiss a negligence lawsuit filed by the parent of a slain Parkland school student against a former deputy who failed to confront the shooter.
The judge on Wednesday rejected arguments by attorneys that ex-deputy Scot Peterson had no legal duty to rush into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 massacre that killed 17 people. Peterson remained outside the entire time.
Attorneys for parent Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow died in the shooting, contended that as the school’s assigned resource officer armed with a gun he had an absolute duty to try to protect the people there.
The lawsuit is one of many filed in the wake of the shooting. Twenty-year-old Nikolas Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the slayings. He has offered to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison, but prosecutors reject that.
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10:15 a.m.
The commission investigating the Florida high school massacre is wading through dozens of findings and recommendations that members hope will prevent future shootings.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission began a two-day meeting Wednesday with a discussion on findings that contributed to the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead.
The commission discussed security lapses that allowed suspect Nikolas Cruz to enter the school, including unlocked and unstaffed gates and doors.
The members will also consider arming security on all campuses, with explicit orders to confront shooters; improving communication systems on campus; and imposing more statewide uniformity in how troubled students are identified and helped.
The commission must file its initial report to Gov. Rick Scott, incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature by Jan. 1.
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12:30 a.m.
There were plenty of missteps in communication, security and school policy before and during the Florida high school massacre that allowed the gunman to kill 17 people. Now, the state commission investigating the shooting will consider a long list of recommendations addressing these problems statewide.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission will consider proposals Wednesday and Thursday, including whether to arm trained teachers who volunteer.
The members will also consider arming security on all campuses, with explicit orders to confront shooters; improving communication systems on campus; and imposing more statewide uniformity in how troubled students are identified and helped.
The commission, created weeks after the Feb. 14 shooting, must file its initial report to Gov. Rick Scott, incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature by Jan. 1.
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