At least 140 live rounds of bullets will be fired inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Friday in a reenactment of the 2018 mass shooting -- part of a civil lawsuit against a former sheriff's deputy who remained outside during the massacre.
The bullets will be fired into a ballistic trap inside the Parkland, Florida, school's three-story building where the violence unfolded. The reenactment, which will take several hours, will mimic the killer's movements on the day that left 17 people dead and 17 others injured in what remains the deadliest US high school shooting.
Scot Peterson, the former deputy, was found not guilty in June of criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of ignoring his training and failing to confront the shooter, instead taking cover outside the building as the victims were gunned down. Peterson argued he didn't enter the building because he couldn't tell where the gunshots were coming from due to echoes on the campus.
The civil action against Peterson was brought by several of the victims' families and a survivor. They want to reenact the shooting in an effort to prove the former Broward County Sheriff's Office deputy heard "upwards of 70 shots and knew where they were coming from," David Brill, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in court in July, shortly before Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips indicated she would allow the reenactment.
In addition to using the same model of semiautomatic rifle and caliber of cartridges, Brill told the judge the reenactment would sound the fire alarm during the same times as the day of the shooting. He said he expected it would take roughly two hours.
The school will be closed for the day and no students will be on campus during the reenactment.
Lawmakers and families of victims to attend reenactment
A bipartisan congressional delegation will tour the site of the massacre ahead of the shooting reenactment, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat, said in a letter inviting all members of Congress to attend.
Several families of the victims will join the nine congressional lawmakers for the tour. For many, the tour will be the second time they visit the untouched site, five years after the February 14 tragedy. Last month, families and surviving victims were allowed to visit for the first time.
Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex was killed in his English class on the first floor of the 1200 building, attended a private tour and witnessed where his child took his last breath.
"I've wanted to bring members of Congress to this building for years, and after I walked through it myself and I saw the horror, I saw Alex's blood all over the floor, all over his desk, and all the other victims, I walked out of that building and I was just so angry," Schachter said during a Friday news conference. "It's worse than I ever imagined."
"I'm like, 'I know what I need to do, I need to bring as many members of Congress as possible,'" Schachter added. "I want them to see what happens when you don't prioritize the safety and security of our kids above education. Because what happens is you get dead kids, and we can't let that happen."
Last year, jurors in the death penalty trial of the gunman also toured the building, followed by a group of reporters who described a scene stuck in time: Valentine's Day gifts and cards, students' notes and assignments were left behind. The reporters saw bloodstains and bullet holes; fragments of broken glass crunched beneath their feet, the reporters said.
Schachter said he hopes the tour and reenactment will result in "good, common sense school safety legislation" with the cooperation of both political parties.
"I'm scared, I'm nervous, and obviously I'm going to be here, and it's going to just remind me what Alex was going through, what all of the victims were going through," Schachter said. "It's going to be scary, but we hope the reenactment will get a jury to understand that there is no possible way that the school resource deputy only heard two or three shots when 70 went off in that building."
Schachter said the reenactment will also include someone reenacting how Peterson allegedly approached within feet of the building before retreating for the next 48 minutes.
There are plans to demolish the building where the shooting occurred, but the Broward County School District has said the demolition will not be completed before school begins on August 21.
"All the families want the building demolished, but if nothing changes, if we don't use this building to teach others and to educate and use it to prevent the next tragedy, you know, it's all for naught," Schachter said.
"It's Alex, it's my anger, and my grief that pushes me forward everyday. I shouldn't have to be going through this, none of Parkland should have been going through this, but that's what I hope the members of congress will understand, that if you don't prioritize this issue, this is what happens."
