Florida bill seeks to lower gun-buying age to 18
Two House Republicans on Monday filed a proposal that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other โlongโ guns, potentially scrapping a high-profile change passed after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz was fixated with guns, dreamed of killing others, letter shows
Four years before Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people at a Florida high school, therapists at another school wrote a letter to his psychiatrist saying he was fixated on guns and dreamed of killing others and being covered in blood.
Florida school shooter was a โdamaged person,โ attorney says
The lead attorney for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz told the jury in his penalty trial Monday they have witnessed โthings that will haunt them for the rest of their lives,โ but they now need to learn what led him to massacre of 17 people four years ago before they can decide whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole.
Florida massacre families to get $127.5 million for FBIโs inaction
Federal officials have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the families of most of those killed and wounded in a 2018 Florida high school massacre over the FBIโs failure to stop the gunman even though it had received information he intended to attack.
Florida school massacre families to get $127.5 million for inaction of FBI
Federal officials have confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the families of most of those killed and wounded in a 2018 Florida high school massacre over the FBIโs failure to stop the gunman even though it had received information he intended to attack.
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On Parkland anniversary, Biden calls for tougher gun laws
President Joe Biden used the the occasion to call on Congress to strengthen gun laws, including requiring background checks on all gun sales and banning assault weapons. The president used the occasion to call on Congress to strengthen gun laws, including requiring background checks on all gun sales and banning assault weapons. "For those of us who lost loved ones that day, it's pretty much like any other day. Even before the Parkland tragedy, there was already plenty of anguish in Florida over gun violence. โToday, as we mourn with the Parkland community, we mourn for all who have lost loved ones to gun violence,โ he said.
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Florida school district had no duty to predict student danger, judge rules
In this frame grab from video provided by WPLG-TV, students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., evacuate the school following a shooting there on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (WPLG-TV via AP)FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. โ A Florida judge has ruled that a local school district had no responsibility to warn students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School of the danger posed by a former student who would later be accused of a mass shooting that killed 17 people. Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning said Monday that the Broward County school district cannot be held liable for failing to predict actions that were beyond its control, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. AdFamilies of the victims have sued Cruz, who was 19 at the time, as well as the school district, the Broward Sheriffโs Office and on-duty deputies who failed to stop the massacre. โThe District had no control over Cruz,โ the judge ruled.
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Senators introduce school safety act nearly 3 years after Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting
Sorrow is reverberating across the country Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, as Americans joined a Florida community in remembering the 17 lives lost three years ago in the Parkland school shooting massacre. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)Three U.S. senators have introduced a school safety bill named for two of the students killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting almost three years ago on Feb. 14. Senators Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, of Florida, and Sen. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, introduced the Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2021. โThe Luke and Alex School Safety Act will ensure that the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse remains a resource our schools can access in the future. AdJohnson introduced the Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2019 to create the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse.
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Florida school district seeks social media posts from parents in 2018 massacre
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. โ A Florida school district wants the families of students and staff slain in a 2018 high school massacre to turn over their social media posts from that period, saying it needs them as part of its defense against the familiesโ lawsuits accusing it of negligence. The district cited multiple lawsuits in which judges found social media postings were relevant for the defense, including lawsuits against local governments. โSuch postings are clearly relevant,โ school district attorney Eugene Pettis wrote in a motion demanding the posts, according to the South Florida SunSentine l. โDefendants are entitled to discover whether the plaintiffs have made any comments on social media regardingโ the shooting. Cruz had a long history of emotional and behavioral problems and his social media posts have been presented as evidence. In addition to the school district, Cruz, the Broward County Sheriffโs Office and its former deputy, Scot Peterson, who was stationed at the school, and others are facing multiple lawsuits.
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Florida mothers united in tragedy push lawmakers to act
At the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, Giordano crossed paths Thursday with Lori Alhadeff, who lost her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa in the Parkland school shooting. Giordano and Alhadeff are linked over their grief of losing children and working to get lawmakers to make schools safer, albeit in different ways. Alhadeff was back to urge lawmakers to require panic buttons at schools to more quickly summon for help. Ron DeSantis, public schools would be required to have a tub or other large container filled with cold water at the sidelines during all games and practices. The proposed law would also require schools to train personnel on how to recognize signs of heat-related ailments, including potentially deadly heat strokes, and to take life-saving actions.
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Funding needed to help protect schools in some Central Florida counties
Many school district and county leaders in Central Florida said they're working to have multiple armed guards in the high schools. Below is a county-by-county breakdown of how schools are budgeted for the SRO program. The starting salary for a guardian is $32,000 while the starting salary for a deputy is $36,000. The SRO budget for 2019-2020 not yet finalized but is expected to be about $5 million. The total budget for the SRO program is $8.3 million, which includes training, salaries, purchasing vehicles and more.
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Orlando-area students participate in walkouts in wake of school shooting
Walkouts were reported Wednesday at Hagerty High School, Lake Mary High School, Oviedo High School, University High School in Orange City and Lyman High School, among other schools across the state. Video showed students sitting on the ground outside of University High School in Orlando chanting "What do we want? Officials from Volusia County Schools said more than 2,000 students participated in a walk out at University High School in Orange City. Seminole County School DistrictWhile the district isn't organizing the event, officials have been made aware and school administrators have been notified. The principal at University High School in Orange City estimates more than 2,000 students participate.