The high school student charged with killing 17 of his fellow students — and wounding 17 others — at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this year is now facing additional charges for allegedly attacking a prison guard at his detention facility and attempting to steal the guard’s taser.
The Tampa Bay Sun-Sentinel reports that the Parkland shooter “flipped the bird at a jail guard then went on the attack, punching the man’s head, wrestling him on the ground and even taking his stun gun to shock him.”
According to an incident report obtained by the Sun-Sentinel, “Sgt. Raymond Beltran was in a dayroom area guarding [the Parkland shooter] about 6 p.m. Tuesday. When Beltran asked [the shooter] not to drag his sandals as he walked around the room, [the shooter] gave him the middle finger.”
Per the report, the shooter then rushed Beltran, punching him in the face and forcing the officer to the ground, where he began punching the officer repeatedly about the head and neck and reaching for the officer’s taser. The taser eventually discharged but no one was hurt.
Another prison guard witnessed the attack and called for backup, the Sun-Sentinel says. Eventually, Beltran was able to overpower the Parkland shooter, punch him in the face, and seat him in a chair, where Beltran held him until other officers arrived on scene.
“[The shooter] then swings at Beltran and strikes Beltran several more times until Beltran uses his right hand, containing the [taser], to strike at [the shooter’s] face,” a Broward Sheriff’s Office internal investigator wrote in a report on the incident. “After being struck by Beltran, [the shooter] retreated to one of the seats located in the dayroom area, at which point Beltran was able to take him into custody.”
The Broward County jail officials and officers’ union representatives say they do not expect Beltran will be disciplined in any way. It is reportedly clear from surveillance video that the Parkland shooter attacked the guard, and that any force Beltran used was likely warranted. Beltran was unhurt but advised to receive medical care.
The Miami Herald reports that the Parkland shooter will now face several charges in addition to the 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder: “Battery on a law enforcement officer; aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer; and use of a chemical or electric weapon against an officer.”
The Parkland shooter has been in custody since February 14, when he entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with a cache of weapons and murdered more than a dozen students. His case has yet to go to trial, however, as lawyers debate over several key issues, including whether the shooter’s educational record will be fair game at trial and whether the shooter’s defense team will be given time to compile a more extensive list of witnesses.
The shooter initially pleaded not guilty to 17 charges of premeditated murder and 17 charges of attempted murder, but the defense offered to change the shooter’s plea if the prosecution promised to seek a sentence of life in prison rather than the death penalty. The Broward County Prosecutor’s Office refused the deal.