Jury selection begins Wednesday in the trial of a former school officer accused of failing to confront the mass killer who gunned down 14 students at a public school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
Scot Peterson, who was tasked with protecting Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is charged with <a href="https://www.local10.com/news/national/2023/05/30/florida-deputy-faces-trial-for-alleged-failure-to-confront-parkland-school-shooter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven counts of felony child neglect</a> related to four murdered students and three others who were injured on the third floor during the shooting. The Daily Wire is not naming the shooter due to company policy about not giving notoriety to mass killers.
<a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/officer-accused-hiding-during-parkland-30110196" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victims’ parents</a> dubbed Peterson “the coward of Broward,” expressing their support for the prosecution. Andrew Pollack, the father of one of the victims, stated that Peterson “wouldn&#8217;t have gone in with full body armor and a bazooka.” Pollack&#8217;s 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was murdered during the shooting.
Peterson, 60, also faces three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence and a perjury charge for allegedly lying to investigators.  If convicted, Peterson could face nearly a century in prison for the child neglect charges alone and would lose his $104,000 pension.
The National Association of School Resource Officers stated that Peterson’s prosecution is a first. His trial begins as Texas authorities investigate the officers who didn’t confront the Uvalde gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school last May. None of the Texas officers have been charged.
Robert Jarvis, a Nova Southeastern University professor, stated that Peterson deserved to be terminated from his job but described his prosecution as an “overreach” and said Peterson “is being used as a scapegoat” for the “many people [who] failed on February 14,” the day of the tragedy.
Peterson <a href="https://www.local10.com/news/national/2023/05/30/florida-deputy-faces-trial-for-alleged-failure-to-confront-parkland-school-shooter/">reportedly</a> entered the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before the shooter arrived, but he retreated rather than confront the shooter.  Peterson then reportedly hid from the gunman in a spot with his weapon drawn for 48 minutes – 45 minutes after the shooting ended.  
He said he thought the shots were coming from a sniper outside, and Peterson’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said 22 defense witnesses also thought the shots were coming from outside the building.
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Oral arguments are scheduled to begin on June 14.  For Peterson to be convicted of child neglect, prosecutors must show that he was a “caretaker” of the children under Florida law. Florida is one of a <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/trial-of-former-deputy-accused-of-failing-to-confront-parkland-shooter/44049451" target="_blank" rel="noopener">handful of states</a> that allow a six-member jury to try non-capital offenses.
The judge, Martin Fein, noted that courts have traditionally interpreted the Florida statute broadly, finding babysitters and even kidnappers as “caretakers.”  Eiglarsh argues that most police officers are exempt from this classification and that the shooter’s weapon was far superior to Peterson’s.

US-CRIME-SCHOOL-SHOOTING

Trial Begins For Former School Resource Officer Accused Of Hiding Outside During Parkland Shooting

Courts

Florida

Parkland Shooting

School Shooting

U.S.

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parkland-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parkland shooter</a> who killed 17 people on Valentine&#8217;s Day in 2018 was formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday after a Florida jury rejected the death penalty last month.
The shooter, who The Daily Wire will not name, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder last year, which included 14 students as young as 14 years old and three staff members, for the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-education-florida-fort-lauderdale-parkland-school-shooting-343ad047ce2904328a3310a0714e6274" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced the shooter to 17 consecutive life terms.
Judge Scherer had no choice but to hand down the sentence after the jury, composed of seven men and five women, voted 9-3 on October 13 to sentence the shooter to death. Florida law requires the vote to be unanimous to impose the death penalty.
The jury foreman in the trial determining the fate of the Parkland High School shooter said three of the 12 jurors opted for a life sentence in prison.
Benjamin Thomas, the jury foreman, told CBS Miami that one juror refused to vote in favor of executing the gunman because she believed he had some form of mental illness. Her belief may have been why two more jurors ultimately voted with her.
&#8220;There was one with a hard no — she couldn&#8217;t do it — and there was another two that ended up voting the same way,&#8221; Thomas said, adding that the verdict to put the shooter in prison for life without parole disappointed him, but he respected the other jurors&#8217; choices.
The judge&#8217;s voice broke as she read the first of the 34 life sentences, according to The Associated Press. But she recovered strength and volume while family members sobbed during the sentencing.
Judge Scherer called the families and wounded victims who testified strong, graceful, and patient.
&#8220;I know you are going to be OK because you have each other,&#8221; Scherer said.
&#8220;I want to thank the family members for the privilege of learning about each and every one of your loved ones,&#8221; Scherer said before the official sentencing Wednesday. &#8220;I can tell you they will not be forgotten.&#8221;
Defense attorneys for the shooter argued that his mother drank during pregnancy, causing the shooter to have fetal alcohol syndrome that went undetected throughout his life.
Lori Alhadeff, the mother of 14-year-old Alyssa, who was killed on that dreadful day four years ago, said the victims&#8217; relatives are &#8220;beyond disappointed with the outcome.&#8221;
&#8220;This should have been the death penalty — 100%,&#8221; Alhadeff said, according to The Associated Press. &#8220;I sent my daughter to school, and she was shot eight times. I cannot understand. I just don&#8217;t understand.&#8221;
Axios reported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) expressed disappointment with the 12-person jury&#8217;s decision to recommend life in prison instead of the death penalty.
&#8220;I think that if you have a death penalty at all, that that is a case — where you&#8217;re massacring those students, with premeditation, in utter disregard of basic humanity — that you deserve the death penalty,&#8221; DeSantis said last month.

Verdict Reached in Confessed Gunman Nikolas Cruz Trial For Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mass School Shooting

Florida Judge Sentences Parkland School Shooter To Life In Prison Without Parole

Crime

On a warm winter day in Parkland, Florida, a former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, expelled for repeated disciplinary issues, entered a building on campus and opened fire, eventually killing 17 people and injuring 17 more.
The shooter, who will not be named by The Daily Wire, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/parkland-shooter-who-murdered-17-gets-life-sentence-not-death-desantis-reacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently sentenced to life in prison</a> for his crimes, but it’s important to remember how we ended up here.
February 14, 2018, began like any other day at Stoneman Douglas. Students were in class, teachers were teaching, and no one inside the school had any clue about the tragedy that was about to take place.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. that day, a 19-year-old former student with a history of disturbing behavior entered one of the school buildings and opened fire into multiple classrooms. A fire alarm went off as the shooter continued to fire into classrooms, and a lockdown wasn’t activated until minutes later. 
By the time the rampage was over, 14 students and three staff members were killed, and another 17 were injured, making the Parkland shooting the fifth deadliest school shooting in American history and surpassing the 1999 Columbine High School massacre as the deadliest shooting to take place at an American high school.
In the aftermath of the shooting, as Democrats and the media rallied against Second Amendment supporters, disturbing information came to light about how law enforcement in Parkland handled the shooting. 
The shooter was known to law enforcement and government agencies long before the school shooting. He was transferred between schools six times within a three-year period due to behavioral issues that schools sought to address themselves rather than pass to law enforcement.
In 2014, he was sent to a school specifically for children with emotional or learning disabilities, and reportedly threatened other students, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/anti-gun-marches-planned-for-cities-throughout-the-us-world/2018/03/24/a7365514-2f59-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. By 2016, he was allowed back into Stoneman Douglas but was expelled the following year, but due to Broward County School policy, he wasn’t expelled from the system, and sent to yet another school.
Throughout all of this, psychiatrists recommended committing the shooter to a residential treatment facility, while the Florida Department of Children and Families investigated him in 2016 for graphic Snapchat posts in which he cut his arms and said he wanted to buy a gun. A school resource officer during this time also suggested the shooter receive an involuntary psychiatric examination. 
In the decade before the shooting, police received dozens of phone calls reporting the shooter and his family, including calls about him threatening to shoot up the high school.
All the while, the shooter’s social media posts included pictures of him with numerous weapons, as well as threats against police officers and others, saying he wanted to recreate the University of Texas tower shooting of 1966.
And just one month before the shooting, someone called the FBI’s tip line to report the shooter’s seeming desire to kill people, his disturbing behavior, and his threatening social media posts — but the FBI never followed up, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-got-tip-parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz-january-didn-t-n848681" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
In addition to numerous authorities failing to prevent the shooter from ever being able to follow through with his vicious threats, police were found to have done little to stop the shooter once he entered the school. School Resource Officer (SRO) Scot Peterson was armed and at the high school when the shooting began, but remained outside the building as the shooter gunned down students and staff. He was suspended without pay shortly after the shooting and retired, but more than a year later, he was arrested and charged for child neglect and culpable negligence, as well as perjury. He pleaded not guilty and filed to have the charges dropped. His trial was delayed in July.
In his defense, Peterson’s attorney has said the former SRO believed the shooter had remained outside the building, and radio dispatches back this up to an extent, with Peterson telling police to lock down the school and ensure “no one comes inside the school.” But he also told police that “We also heard it’s by, inside the 1200,” referring to the building the shooter first entered.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel received the most scrutiny for his response to the shooting, with Coral Springs police officers arriving to find that sheriff’s deputies had not entered the building well after the alert came in. Israel also later admitted that he had changed the sheriff’s policy regarding active shooter situations from saying deputies “shall” engage with active shooters to saying they “may” engage. The change was credited with allowing deputies to stay outside while the shooter rampaged through the school.
On April 20, 2018, Israel received a no-confidence vote from his local union. A year later, on January 11, 2019, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis officially suspended Israel from his duties over his response to the shooting. Later that year, after attempting to appeal his suspension, the Florida Senate voted to uphold DeSantis’ decision.
The shooter’s trial was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but on October 13, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, getting spared the death penalty by the Florida jury. A death penalty conviction requires a unanimous vote from the jury, but three jurors reportedly voted against the death penalty, resulting in a life sentence instead. 
Jury foreman Benjamin Thomas <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/video/parkland-gunman-sentencing-trial-jury-foreman-benjamin-thomas-said-it-didnt-go-the-way-he-would-hav/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CBS Miami</a> that he voted for the death penalty to be imposed, and was “not happy” with how things turned out.
&#8220;It really came down to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/she-couldnt-do-it-parkland-shooter-jury-foreman-says-one-firmly-rejected-death-sentence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a specific juror</a> who believed [the gunman] was mentally ill,&#8221; Thomas said. &#8220;She didn&#8217;t believe that because he&#8217;s mentally ill he should get the death penalty.&#8221;
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-jury-reaches-verdict-in-parkland-shooter-sentencing-trial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time, the decision not to implement the death penalty was met with disappointment and frustration by family members of victims who attended the trial.
“What do we have the death penalty for,” asked Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was killed during the shooting.
“We are beyond disappointed with the outcome today,” his wife, Lori, said after the sentence was handed down. “I just don’t understand this.”
A life sentence means the shooter will be off the streets and unable to hurt any more innocent victims, while also saving taxpayers the costs of appealing a death sentence. 
Families of victims, however, receive little solace from the conviction, knowing their loved ones are no longer alive while the shooter gets to live a full life, even if he is behind bars.

US-POLITICS-GUNS-SCHOOLS-PROTEST

From Parkland To Conviction: The Saga Of One Of America’s Deadliest School Shootings

Death Penalty

Readers Pass

True Crime

The jury foreman in the trial determining the fate of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parkland-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parkland High School</a> shooter who killed 17 people on Valentine&#8217;s Day in 2018 said three of the 12 jurors opted for a life sentence in prison.
The shooter, who The Daily Wire will not name, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder last year, which included 14 students as young as 14 years old and three staff members. But the Florida jury rejected the much-anticipated death sentence rather than receiving the majority vote for the death penalty.
Benjamin Thomas, the jury foreman, told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/live-updates/nikolas-cruz-trial-day-2-jury-deliberations/#post-update-7daacb90" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS Miami</a> that one juror refused to vote in favor of executing the gunman because she believed he had some form of mental illness. Her belief may have been why two more jurors ultimately voted with her.
&#8220;There was one with a hard no — she couldn&#8217;t do it — and there was another two that ended up voting the same way,&#8221; Thomas said, adding that the verdict to put the shooter in prison for life without parole disappointed him, but he respected the other jurors&#8217; choice.
Despite his dissatisfaction with the vote, Thomas said, &#8220;that&#8217;s how the jury system works.&#8221;
&#8220;Everybody gets their vote — everybody gets to decide,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We went through all the evidence, and some of the jurors just felt that was the appropriate sentence.&#8221;
According to Thomas, the jury concluded their decision on Wednesday, but some wanted to take the night to sleep on it before returning to court the following day.
If a juror has made up their mind and they will only vote one way, &#8220;there&#8217;s nothing else you can do, so we voted and moved on,&#8221; he said, adding that he felt bad for the victims&#8217; families as the decision hurt many of them.
&#8220;This is insane. Everyone knows, right?&#8221; Chen Wang, 14-year-old shooting victim Peter Wang&#8217;s cousin, yelled during a news conference after the decision was read, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/parkland-shooter-jury-recommendation-live-updates-15c5121be1b8b7a73b85607d602e6ba2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press</a>. &#8220;We need justice.&#8221;
Lori Alhadeff, the mother of 14-year-old Alyssa, who was killed on that dreadful day four years ago, said the victims&#8217; relatives are &#8220;beyond disappointed with the outcome.&#8221;
&#8220;This should have been the death penalty — 100%,&#8221; Alhadeff said, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/parkland-shooter-jury-recommendation-live-updates-15c5121be1b8b7a73b85607d602e6ba2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press.</a> &#8220;I sent my daughter to school, and she was shot eight times. I cannot understand. I just don&#8217;t understand.&#8221;
The jury, composed of seven men and five women, had to be unanimous to impose the death penalty. Otherwise, the shooter would receive a life sentence for his crimes, which prosecutors described during closing arguments as entailing &#8220;systematic massacre.&#8221;
Defense attorneys for the shooter argued that his mother drank during pregnancy, causing the shooter to have fetal alcohol syndrome that went undetected throughout his life.
Deliberations began on Wednesday following the conclusion of a three-month trial. According to The Associated Press, the case was the deadliest of its kind to go to trial.
 Eric Quintanar contributed to this report.

US-NEWS-PARKLAND-FL

‘She Couldn’t Do It’: Parkland Shooter Jury Foreman Says One Firmly Rejected Death Sentence

Parkland Shooter Jury Foreman Says One Firmly Rejected Death Sentence

Mass Shooting

On Thursday, Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis reacted to the sentence handed to the Parkland shooter who murdered 17 people, including 14 high school students, on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018.
The jury deliberated less than two days before deciding the shooter should receive a life sentence without parole, instead of the death penalty, for the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“I think that if you have a death penalty at all, that that is a case where you’re massacring those students with premeditation and other disregard for basic humanity, that you deserve the death penalty,” DeSantis stated.
“And so the jurors came back; apparently it was eleven to one, with one holdout refusing to authorize the ultimate punishment, and that means that this killer’s going to end up getting the same sentence as people who committed bad acts but acts that did not rise to this level,” he continued. “I just don’t think anything else is appropriate except the capital sentence in this case, and so I was very disappointed to see that. I’m also disappointed that we’re four and a half years after these killings and we’re just now getting this.”
“You know, they used to do this: He would have been executed in six months,” DeSantis declared. “He’s guilty. Everybody knew that from the beginning, and yet it takes years and years in this legal system that is not serving the interest of victims.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The only appropriate sentence for the massacre of 17 innocent people is the death penalty. That the jury had a single holdout refuse to authorize a capital sentence represents a miscarriage of justice. 
My prayers are with the Parkland families. <a href="https://t.co/f2M0Fw1SLo">pic.twitter.com/f2M0Fw1SLo</a>
&mdash; Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1580619386611765260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Many in the courtroom were disturbed or frustrated by the sentence the shooter received.
Some parents of the murdered students reacted verbally to the sentence: Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was murdered by the shooter, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/13/us/parkland-trial-verdict">said</a>, “The monster that killed them gets to live another day. &#8230; Society has to really look and re-examine who and what is a victim.”
Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter was another victim, said he was “disgusted” not only with the jury but also the legal system, asking rhetorically, “What do we have the death penalty for?”
At the beginning of August, Alhadeff gave a heartbreaking speech about his daughter at the sentencing trial of the shooter.
“She was supposed to get married,&#8221; he said, breaking down in tears. “I was going to have my father-daughter dance. She would have had a beautiful family, four kids, live in a gorgeous house, a beach house on the side. All those plans came to an end with Alyssa’s murder.”
NBC Miami <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/reflection-remembering-the-17-parkland-victims/2690110/">profiled</a> the victims in February. Their names included: Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old Varsity soccer player; Scott Beigel, a 35-year-old cross-country coach; Martin Duque, a 14-year-old who had dreams of becoming a Navy Seal; Nicholas Dworet, a 17-year-old senior committed to the University of Indianapolis; Aaron Feis, a 37-year-old father and football coach; Peter Wang; a 15-year-old who helped his classmates escape the massacre and was posthumously admitted to West Point; Carmen Schentrup, a 16-year-old National Merit Scholar and president of an acapella group; Alex Schachter, a 14-year-old athlete and marching band member; Helena Ramsay; a 17-year-old who wanted to travel the world; Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior committed to Lynn University; Alaina Petty, a 14-year-old ROTC cadet of the month; Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old Miami Heat fan; Gina Montalto, a 14-year-old Girl Scout and avid reader; Cara Loughran, a 14-year-old who taught education classes at her church; Jaime Guttenberg, a 14-year-old who loved helping children; Chris Hixon, a 49-year-old Navy Veteran and athletics director; Luke Hoyer, a 15-year-old basketball lover and scholarship winner.
Related: <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/alyssa-will-always-be-14-father-of-parkland-victim-gives-unforgettably-heartbreaking-speech-at-trial-of-shooter/">‘Alyssa Will Always Be 14’: Father Of Parkland Victim Gives Unforgettably Heartbreaking Speech At Trial Of Shooter</a>

Florida’s Southern Gulf Coast Continues Clean Up Efforts In Wake Of Hurricane Ian

Parkland Shooter Who Murdered 17 Gets Life Sentence, Not Death. DeSantis Reacts.

Ron DeSantis

A Florida jury rejected the death penalty Thursday for the Parkland school shooter who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/parkland-shooting">killed 17 people</a> on Valentine&#8217;s Day 2018.
The shooter received life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the murders, causing disappointment and frustration among family members of the victims attending the trial.
“What do we have the death penalty for,&#8221; said Dr. Ilan Alhadeff, who gave a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alyssa-will-always-be-14-father-of-parkland-victim-gives-unforgettably-heartbreaking-speech-at-trial-of-shooter">moving victim impact statement</a> in August on the murder of his daughter Alyssa, a 14-year-old varsity soccer player. “We are beyond disappointed with the outcome today,” his wife, Lori, said Thursday, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/13/us/parkland-trial-verdict">reports</a> The New York Times. “I just don’t understand this.”
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know how this jury came to the conclusions that they did today, but 17 families did not receive justice,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/DaniTravisTV/status/1580597635735355404">said</a> Fred Guttenberg, who lost his 14-year-old daughter Jaime.
The shooter, who The Daily Wire will not name, was in the penalty phase of his trial, having pleaded guilty to seventeen counts of murder last year. Fourteen students and three staff members were killed, with the youngest victims only 14 years old.
The jury, composed of seven men and five women, had to be unanimous to impose the death penalty. Otherwise, the shooter had to receive a life sentence for his crimes, which prosecutors described during closing arguments as entailing &#8220;systematic massacre.&#8221;
The shooter&#8217;s defense attorneys argued that his mother drank during the pregnancy, causing the shooter to have fetal alcohol syndrome that went undetected throughout his life.
Deliberations began on Wednesday, following the conclusion of a three-month trial. According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/parkland-shooter-jury-recommendation-live-updates-15c5121be1b8b7a73b85607d602e6ba2">Associated Press</a>, the case was the deadliest of its kind to go to trial.
NBC Miami <a href="https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/reflection-remembering-the-17-parkland-victims/2690110/">profiled</a> the victims in February. Their names included: Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old Varsity soccer player; Scott Beigel, a 35-year-old cross-country coach; Martin Duque, a 14-year-old who had dreams of becoming a Navy Seal; Nicholas Dworet, a 17-year-old senior committed to the University of Indianapolis; Aaron Feis, a 37-year-old father and football coach; Peter Wang; a 15-year-old who helped his classmates escape the massacre and was posthumously admitted to West Point; Carmen Schentrup, a 16-year-old National Merit Scholar and president of an acapella group; Alex Schachter, a 14-year-old athlete and marching band member; Helena Ramsay; a 17-year-old who wanted to travel the world; Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior committed to Lynn University; Alaina Petty, a 14-year-old ROTC cadet of the month; Joaquin Oliver, a 17-year-old Miami Heat fan; Gina Montalto, a 14-year-old Girl Scout and avid reader; Cara Loughran, a 14-year-old who taught education classes at her church; Jaime Guttenberg, a 14-year-old who loved helping children; Chris Hixon, a 49-year-old Navy Veteran and athletics director; Luke Hoyer, a 15-year-old basketball lover and scholarship winner.
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

US-SHOOTING-JUSTICE-PARKLAND

Jury Rejects Death Penalty For Parkland Shooter

Jury Reaches Verdict In Parkland Shooter Sentencing Trial

Ryan Petty lost his 14-year-old daughter Alaina in the 2018 <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/im-having-flashbacks-parkland-dad-excoriates-uvalde-cops-for-waiting-to-breach-school/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school shooting</a> at Marjory Stoneman-Douglas High School — and he&#8217;s demanding an apology for a recent ad that depicted a Republican candidate and several children as literal targets of gun violence.
The ad in question was a mailer promoting Loranne Ausley, who is running to keep her seat in the Florida State Senate (District 3) — and it showed her opponent, Republican Corey Simon, on a shooting target. Other imagery on mailers promoting Ausley showed children seated at their school desks or wearing backpacks — also superimposed over shooting targets.
The ad labeled Simon an &#8220;extremist&#8221; and claimed that his policies in support of the 2nd Amendment would lead to more gun violence and more school shootings.
&#8220;I’m asking for [Ausley] to apologize to the Parkland families,&#8221; <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/governor-ron-desantis-signs-school-safety-bill-in-florida/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Petty</a> told The Daily Wire on Sunday.
He shared a tweet calling for her apology on Friday, sharing photos of the offending mailer.
&#8220;@LoranneAusley you must apologize immediately. This is wrong and you should have known better. Your constituents deserve better than this,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/LoranneAusley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LoranneAusley</a> you must apologize immediately. This is wrong and you should have known better. Your constituents deserve better than this. <a href="https://t.co/Mme2YEvhbb">pic.twitter.com/Mme2YEvhbb</a>
&mdash; Ryan Petty (@rpetty) <a href="https://twitter.com/rpetty/status/1578518860621582338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Two days later, he noted that she still had not offered an apology for the ad. &#8220;Still waiting,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Still waiting… <a href="https://t.co/deJ7STmQuM">https://t.co/deJ7STmQuM</a>
&mdash; Ryan Petty (@rpetty) <a href="https://twitter.com/rpetty/status/1579209182330638336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 9, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Javon Price — who previously worked for Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) — responded to the ad as well, saying, &#8220;I find it disgraceful that Democrats like @Lorane Ausley think it&#8217;s okay to mail out campaign material with @csime90&#8217;s face on a target to shoot &amp; that the media refuses [to] cover stuff like this.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I find it disgraceful that Democrats like <a href="https://twitter.com/LoranneAusley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LoranneAusley</a> think it’s okay to mail out campaign material with <a href="https://twitter.com/csime90?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@csime90</a>’s face on a target to shoot &amp; that the media refuses cover stuff like this!
The hate Black conservatives face from the Left and the media is unreal <a href="https://t.co/8mLsl5kzEm">pic.twitter.com/8mLsl5kzEm</a>
&mdash; Javon A. Price 🇺🇸 (@JavonAPrice) <a href="https://twitter.com/JavonAPrice/status/1577084633736368129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Christina Pushaw, Rapid Response Director for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (who has endorsed Simon), responded as well, adding, &#8220;I agree, this is sick and appalling. WAY over the line, especially with recent incidents of political violence in our country. What&#8217;s even worse is that Tallahassee media, including @JimRosicaFL &amp; @fineout, see nothing wrong with this &#8230; because Loranne Ausley is a Democrat?&#8221;
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I agree, this is sick and appalling. WAY over the line, especially with recent incidents of political violence in our country. 
What&#39;s even worse is that Tallahassee media, including <a href="https://twitter.com/JimRosicaFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JimRosicaFL</a> &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/fineout?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fineout</a>, see nothing wrong with this&#8230; because Loranne Ausley is a Democrat? <a href="https://t.co/dsiKKIITR4">https://t.co/dsiKKIITR4</a>
&mdash; Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristinaPushaw/status/1577086016472555521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Senate President-designate Kathleen Passidomo released a statement calling on Minority Leader Lauren Book to condemn the mailer, which was paid for by The Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee — a campaign arm of Senate Democrats that is headed up by Book.
&#8220;As Senate President, Minority Leader Lauren Book and I will be called upon to set an example of respect, decorum, common decency and concern for one another for our members, in order to carry out the people’s work. That basic call for humanity shouldn’t have to wait until after the election,&#8221; Passidomo <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/561530-republicans-community-leaders-denounce-ad-depicting-corey-simon-on-shooting-target/">wrote</a>. &#8220;Minority Leader Book should denounce this mailer and hold accountable those who are responsible for its disgusting content immediately. She shouldn’t tolerate this level of hate now, and she can be sure that it won’t be tolerated in the Florida Senate.&#8221;

Two Parents Of Children Killed In Parkland School Shooting Announce They’re Running For School Board Seats

Parkland Father Demands Apology From Democrat Over School Shooting Ad

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida">Florida</a> man obsessed with mass school shootings has been charged for leaving dead animals at a memorial in Parkland, Florida, where 17 victims from the Parkland school massacre lay to rest.
Robert Mondragon, 29, faces three felony charges for allegedly disfiguring a monument outside of Parkland&#8217;s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and for violating probation for battery, five counts of indecent exposure, and breaking a risk protection order, authorities <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.sheriff.org/PIO/BSONews/Pages/BROWARD-MAN-ARRESTED-FOR-PLACING-DEAD-ANIMALS-ON-PARKLAND-MEMORIAL.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Friday.
Broward Sheriff&#8217;s Office said a school crossing guard found a dead raccoon, opossum, and duck with its chest cavity cut open outside the high school on the same memorial bench between July 20 and July 31.
Detectives uncovered video surveillance which revealed a male exit a white Nissan with all black rims or tires at the memorial on July 30 and entering the memorial site for several minutes before returning to the vehicle and leaving. Officials spotted the same car slowly driving near the high school the following night, prompting a traffic stop.
The deputy said Mondragon was the only person in the car when he noticed feathers and blood on the front passenger side floorboard.
Mondragon told the deputy he had the dead bird in his car because he likes &#8220;the metal and blood smell that emits from the dead animal.&#8221;
It wasn&#8217;t until four nights later when officials arrested Mondragon for allegedly violating his probation for battery and indecent exposure and for violating his risk protection order.
Using several search warrants for Mondragon&#8217;s car, home, cellphone, and social media accounts, officials found a photo on the suspect&#8217;s phone of him allegedly holding the dead duck with its chest sliced open and another photo of a dead raccoon on the floor of his car.
Further investigations revealed Mondragon&#8217;s &#8220;disturbing fascination&#8221; with real and fictitious school shooters — namely Tate Langdon, the character based on the Columbine High School massacre from the television series &#8220;American Horror Story.&#8221;
Authorities also allegedly found text messages from Mondragon&#8217;s phone about school shootings and internet searches about school shooters, how to break into steel doors, shootings involving multiple victims, pipe bombs, as well as slang terms for killing cops.
Fox 13 News reports that Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said during a Friday press conference that Mondragon had made numerous computer searches about old school shootings, which makes him fearful that Mondragon may have been planning one himself.
&#8220;He fits every classification that it&#8217;s coming,&#8221; Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said during a press conference Friday, according to the <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/crime/fl-ne-bso-efforts-robert-mondragon-20220902-zdf2lkv62bf7fa5ybmvbxejxdi-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Florida Sun-Sentinel</a>. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been lucky, and luck is not a strategy.&#8221;
Fox 13 News <a href="https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-man-left-dead-animals-at-parkland-school-shooting-memorial-sheriff-says">reports</a> Andrew Coffey, Mondragon&#8217;s attorney, said Mondragon &#8220;had a troubled and traumatic childhood,&#8221; adding he was the child victim of a crime awaiting trial, but he declined to give specifics.
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Sheriff Gregory Tony held a press conference this morning to announce a significant arrest by BSO’s Threat Management Unit (TMU). 
Click here to watch the full press conference: <a href="https://t.co/FDLdfZCzy0">https://t.co/FDLdfZCzy0</a>
Click here to read the news release:<a href="https://t.co/P69FVvO410">https://t.co/P69FVvO410</a> <a href="https://t.co/KuUJPaNFun">pic.twitter.com/KuUJPaNFun</a>
&mdash; Broward Sheriff (@browardsheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/1565744461304455174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Florida Town Of Parkland In Mourning, After Shooting At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Kills 17

Man With ‘Disturbing Fascination’ Of Mass School Shootings Charged For Leaving Dead Animals At Parkland Memorial Site: Sherriff

Broward County

On Friday, four and a half years after the horrific massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis suspended four Broward School Board members following the recommendations of the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury.
DeSantis suspended Broward School Board Members Patricia Good, Donna Korn, Ann Murray and Laurie Rich Levinson.
In his <a href="https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Executive-Order-22-202.pdf">executive order,</a> DeSantis pointed out “district school board members are constitutionally elected as provided by law to ‘operate, control and supervise all free schools within the school district.’” He added that Florida statute requires school boards to pay “proper attention to health, safety and other matters relating to the welfare of students.”
DeSantis cited the report from the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury found that the board members, “through fraud and deceit,” had mismanaged the SMART Program, a multi-million bond specifically solicited for school safety and renovation initiatives, and would likely continue to do so.
He also stated that the board members were lax in holding former Superintendent Robert Runcie and former general counsel Barbara Myrick, who were both indicted for felonies related to their appearances before the Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury, accountable.
The report also stated that a safety-related alarm that could have possibly saved lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School “was and is such a low priority that it remains uninstalled at multiple schools” in Broward County, adding that “students continue to be educated in unsafe, aging, decrepit, moldy buildings that were supposed to have been renovated years ago.”
“These are inexcusable actions by school board members who have shown a pattern of emboldening unacceptable behavior, including fraud and mismanagement, across the district,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2022/08/26/governor-ron-desantis-suspends-four-broward-school-board-members-from-office/">stated</a>.
“It is my duty to suspend people from office when there is clear evidence of incompetence, neglect of duty, misfeasance or malfeasance,” he continued. “The findings of the Statewide Grand Jury affirm the work of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Commission. We are grateful to the members of the jury who have dedicated countless hours to this mission and we hope this suspension brings the Parkland community another step towards justice. This action is in the best interest of the residents and students of Broward County and all citizens of Florida.”
“The Twentieth Statewide Grand Jury was impaneled by the Florida Supreme Court in February 2019, following the tragic loss of 17 individuals at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one year prior,” DeSantis noted. “The Statewide Grand Jury was asked to examine four issues, including whether public entities and school officials committed fraud and deceit by mismanaging funds devoted to school safety.”
DeSantis appointed four new members for the school board: Torey Alston, former commissioner of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and president of Indelible Solutions; Manual “Nandy” A. Serrano, member of the Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors; Ryan Reiter, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and director of government relations for Kaufman Lynn Construction; and Kevin Tynan, attorney with Richardson and Tynan, who previously served on the Broward County School Board and South Broward Hospital District.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign

DeSantis Suspends Four Broward County School Board Members: ‘Another Step Towards Justice’

DeSantis Suspends Four Broward County School Board Members

School Board

Speaking at the sentencing trial of the shooter who massacred 14 students and three teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day in 2018, the father of a 14-year-old girl who was murdered gave unforgettably heartbreaking testimony in his victim impact statement.
Dr. Ilan Alhadeff spoke of his beloved oldest child Alyssa as the member of the audience wept.
“I wanted to tell this jury what happened to my family and this community,” he began. “I want to tell you what happened to my Alyssa.”
“On February 14, 2018, my fourteen-year-old daughter was right where she was supposed to be: in her high school English class. Four years later, she’s supposed to have been in her second year of college. Soon, she’d go on to be a professional soccer player; she’d get her law degree, and maybe become one of the most successful business negotiation lawyers the world would see,” he said.
“She was supposed to get married,&#8221; he continued, breaking down in tears. “I was going to have my father-daughter dance. She would have had a beautiful family, four kids, live in a gorgeous house, a beach house on the side. All those plans came to an end with Alyssa’s murder.”
He spoke of how his beloved daughter’s death affected their family: “Alyssa’s murder impacted so many people in so many ways; after Alyssa’s death, my father was never the same. He passed away a year later. My elderly mother lost her granddaughter and struggles to find happiness in her life. Then there’s my father-in-law, who always said Alyssa could do no wrong. They had a very special bond, one that you love to see between grandparents and grandchildren.”
“But this was broken only by Alyssa’s murder,” he said. “My mother-in-law, she also had a special bond with Alyssa. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t get emotional and go to tears when talking about Alyssa.”
“Alyssa was the captain of her soccer team and the center of all her friends,” he recalled. “She lifted them up; she helped them study; she was the shoulder to cry on and she was the ear to listen. No matter what her friends needed, she was there for them.”
Distraught, he said, “Most of all, she had this infectious laugh that now I only get to watch on TikTok videos.”
Pulling himself together again, he continued, “Then there are Alyssa’s brothers: one was too young to comprehend but asks to go to the cemetery to see his sister from time to time. This is not normal. For the older one, I feel like Alyssa was his best friend. He looked up to her in so many ways. The night of the tragedy he stayed up the whole night night calling me every hour asking me if we had found her yet, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him on the phone that his sister was murdered, so I had to wait until we got home and had to share this tragic news to him. It broke my heart to say this to him.”
“About a year or so later, he asked if he could switch rooms so he could be closer to her,” he recalled. “He holds back his sadness and anger about losing his sister but recently at the gravesite, he gave a speech and just came to tears. This is not normal for young boys growing up. They should not know of such sorrow, such loss, and tragedy.”
He then turned to his wife: “My wife, the mother of our children, lost her first-born daughter. She gives talks about how it was like someone ripping her heart and stabbing it. She fights every single day to keep Alyssa’s name alive, whether it’s with our foundation, with the school board, with the girls’ soccer club, she wears bracelets with Alyssa’s name on it. She occasionally sprays Alyssa’s perfume just to try and smell her. She even sleeps with Alyssa’s blankets.”
He finally spoke about himself: “Then there was me. My first-born daughter. My shining star, daddy’s girl, was taken from me. I get to watch my friends, my neighbors, colleagues spend time enjoying their daughters, enjoying all the normal milestones, taking in the normal joys and I only get to watch videos or go to the cemetery to see my daughter.”
“It was four years ago to everyone but to me it was yesterday,” he said emotionally.
In a heartbreaking statement, he said, “Alyssa will always be 14. And I will always be at that point in life with her.”
“All I know is that a piece of my heart was not just cut out, but it was ripped out of my damn chest. For four years I’ve watched so many struggle while the only option I’ve had is to keep it together for my family. Inside I burned like a damn inferno; it took me so long to feel empathy again . &#8230; Unfortunately I have to live my life with anger now and make it fuel my existence,” he admitted.
He concluded, “Missing our daughter every single day. No parent is supposed to have this grief. Without our daughter Alyssa, our lives have been changed forever.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Parkland school shooting testimony: Dr. Ilan Marc Alhadeff reads victim impact statement" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_WtZxzLxsVw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Confessed Gunman Nikolas Cruz On Trial For Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mass School Shooting

‘Alyssa Will Always Be 14’: Father Of Parkland Victim Gives Unforgettably Heartbreaking Speech At Trial Of Shooter

Father Of Parkland Victim Gives Unforgettably Heartbreaking Speech At Trial Of Shooter

Valentine's Day

Democrat President Joe Biden was heckled Monday at a White House event that was held to celebrate his administration signing gun control legislation into law.
Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the Parkland shooting in 2018, interrupted Biden&#8217;s remarks, yelling, &#8220;You have to do more than this!&#8221;
&#8220;Sit down!&#8221; Biden responded. &#8220;You’ll hear what I have to say.&#8221;
&#8220;You have to open an office in the White House!&#8221; Oliver continued. &#8220;I’ve been trying to tell you this for years! And years!&#8221;
WATCH:
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Biden to protester who interrupts his speech: &quot;Sit down. You&#39;ll hear what I have to say.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/K0pgkUkUoa">pic.twitter.com/K0pgkUkUoa</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1546522625803014144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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After Biden told the audience to let Oliver talk, Oliver was quickly escorted out of the event.
Oliver <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article263354778.html">told</a> the Miami Herald that he interrupted the event because “it was my chance to say something to the president, and that’s a chance we don’t have every single day. That’s pretty much what this is about.&#8221;
“There’s nothing to celebrate,” Oliver told the newspaper about the event. “It’s a big lie. We lie between ourselves thinking we have a solution to this when we actually don’t. “There was no need for this event at all.”
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A man who got up during ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>⁩ remarks on gun control is escorted out of the White House event. <a href="https://t.co/p0YpWezmRq">pic.twitter.com/p0YpWezmRq</a>
&mdash; Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/1546515980884627459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Oliver tweeted before the event, &#8220;The word CELEBRATION has no space in a society that saw 19 kids massacred just a month ago. &#8216;Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.&#8217; Not me, not Joaquin.&#8221;
During another point in the event, Biden said that the Parkland shooting happened in 1918, 100 years before the tragedy occurred.
Biden previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-joe-biden-claims-he-was-vice-president-2018-ryan-saavedra">claimed</a> that he was vice president during the Parkland shooting and that he met with the kids from the school, even though he left office more than a year prior to the shooting.
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Joe Biden says the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School happened in “1918” <a href="https://t.co/IUNkE9ctpH">pic.twitter.com/IUNkE9ctpH</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1546517192317046784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The embarrassing moment for Biden at the event comes after the 79-year-old president has repeatedly struggled at recent events, including one last week where he appeared to struggle while giving remarks.
Biden repeatedly stammered, struggled to pronounce words, and appeared to read a little too much off the teleprompter, which earned him widespread mockery, including from Elon Musk.
“It is noteworthy that the percentage of women who register to vote and cast a ballot is consistently higher than the percentage of the men who do so — end of quote. Repeat the line,” Biden said. “Women are not without electoral and, or political — let me be precise — not and, or — or political power.”
Musk responded with a meme from the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” starring Will Ferrell.
“Whoever controls the teleprompter is the real President!” Musk wrote.
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Whoever controls the teleprompter is the real President! <a href="https://t.co/1rcqmwLe9S">pic.twitter.com/1rcqmwLe9S</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1545457074389151744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The meme showed a clip of Ron Burgundy, played by Ferrell, reading off a teleprompter during a newscast, saying: “You stay classy, San Diego. I’m Ron Burgundy?”
Burgundy’s remarks are immediately followed by his boss stating behind the scenes: “Damn it! Who typed a question [mark] on the Teleprompter? For the last time, anything you put on that prompter, Burgundy will read.”
Other embarrassing moments from the press conference include Biden trying to talk about the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
“Right now, in all 50 straits and the District of Combia…” Biden appeared to say.
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Joe Biden, as delivered: &quot;Right now, in all 50 straits and the District of Combia&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/SD8qkZwyaB">pic.twitter.com/SD8qkZwyaB</a>
&mdash; Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1545447496150827010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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During another point, Biden talked about a 10-year-old who reportedly had to travel to another state to receive an abortion, appearing to say “presidency” instead of “pregnancy” while talking about it.
“10 years old, and she was forced to have to travel out of the state to Indiana to seek to terminate the presidency and maybe save her life,” Biden appeared to say.
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&quot;&#8230;to terminate the presidency&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/AG5vOa1DBh">pic.twitter.com/AG5vOa1DBh</a>
&mdash; Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliespiering/status/1545443088188964874?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Biden also spoke about the “tens of millions of womens” who will vote this year.
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Joe Biden: &quot;When tens of millions of womens vote this year&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/SRtflWs14E">pic.twitter.com/SRtflWs14E</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1545442574458052609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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US-POLITICS-BIDEN-CRIME-GUN VIOLENCE-GUN CONTROL

WATCH: Biden Heckled By One Of His Own Guests At White House Event

Gun Control

Joe Biden

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed a school safety bill on Tuesday intended to ensure the safety of every student in the Sunshine State.
The steps taken in HB 1421 build on legislation over the last three years to make schools safer and improve youth mental health, according to a statement from the governor&#8217;s office.
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“Every child needs a safe and secure learning environment,” DeSantis said in a <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2022/06/07/governor-ron-desantis-signs-hb-1421-improving-school-safety-in-florida/">statement</a>. “By signing HB 1421, we continue to build on the many steps we have taken since 2019 to implement the recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, while also making record investments in mental health and school safety.”
State Board of Education Member Ryan Petty also commented on the significance of the new safety law.
“This legislation is a huge leap forward in school safety,” Petty said.
“I want to thank Governor DeSantis for his bold leadership on this most fundamental issue. Nothing is more important than providing safe and secure learning environments for our children and educators. Extending the Commission’s work and requiring mental health and de-escalation training for safe-school officers will make a major difference in mitigating the risk of a future tragedy,” he added.
Tony Montalto, president of Stand with Parkland, also added his support for the newly signed law.
“Every parent deserves to know their child is safe at school,” Montalto noted. “This new law, which passed unanimously through the Florida Legislature, is an important next step in providing school safety assurances to families and students. Florida will continue to do everything possible to make sure our schools meet the highest safety standards and that mental health issues associated with school violence are being addressed.”
Many of the provisions of the new law extend aspects of a 2019 effort <a href="https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/08/gov-ron-desantis-signs-bill-allowing-armed-teachers/1147430001/">signed</a> by DeSantis to implement school safety recommendations of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.
In the Fiscal Year 2019-2020, the Governor approved $317 million for school safety and mental health funding, including $180 million for the Safe Schools component of the FEFP, over $80 million for Mental Health Assistance Allocation and Youth Mental Health awareness, and $50 million for school hardening grants to improve the security of school campuses.
The bill’s signing also follows a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/students-and-staff-will-not-be-returning-to-robb-elementary-campus-uvalde-school-district-letter">tragic shooting</a> on May 30 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers at the hands of an 18-year-old shooter. The tragedy has led to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-gun-control-not-about-taking-away-rights-before-listing-ways-he-wants-to-take-away-rights">national outcry</a> for lawmakers to reduce gun violence.
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