Parkland students who survived shooting file federal lawsuit
Students are evacuated by police out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooting on February 14, 2018. (Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel/TNS)
July 12, 2018
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Broward deputies at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School violated the constitutional rights of the survivors of February’s school massacre by failing to stop Nikolas Cruz when he showed up on campus with murder on his mind, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit specifically names Broward County, retired school resource officer Scot Peterson, Broward Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jan Jordan and campus monitor Andrew Medina as defendants.
The plaintiffs are all students who are referred to by their initials.
The suit also doesn’t identify Cruz by name, referring to him simply as “the Shooter.”
A student who was searched and questioned hours before the shooting is accusing Peterson of illegally searching his backpack and questioning why he had so much money on him. The account stands in contrast to Peterson’s inaction while the shooting was taking place hours later, according to the suit.