A school resource officer accused of hiding during the Parkland mass shooting that left 17 dead will face charges for negligence

• A Marjory Stoneman Douglas resource officer will face negligence charges for his actions during the mass shooting, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
• Scot Peterson is accused of hiding during the school shooting that left 17 people dead.
• A judge ruled that the child negligence charges against Peterson should not be thrown out.

A Marjory Stoneman Douglass school resource officer accused of hiding during the 2018 school shooting that left 17 dead will face criminal charges for negligence, a judge ruled Thursday.

Prosecutors said that Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson failed to protect students and teachers as the shooter worked his way through the school, the Associated Press reported.

Peterson, 58, had tried to have the charges dismissed, but Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein said a trial on the charges of child negligence could move forward, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Defense attorneys for Peterson argued that the negligence charges he faces don't apply to him because the charges apply to child caregivers, but the judge ruled that a jury should be able to decide if a school resource officer qualifies as a caregiver.

Peterson is next set to appear in court on December 9.

Peterson told Local10 that he will "never forget that day" after a court hearing Wednesday.

"Never for a second would I sit there and allow anyone to die knowing that animal was up in the building," Peterson said.

Surveillance videos have shown that Peterson never entered the building. Peterson said he was radioing for help outside the school buildings because he didn't know where Cruz was on the campus, according to Local10.

Nikolas Cruz is accused of killing 17 people in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February 2018. If convicted, Cruz faces the death penalty for the shooting. Cruz's defense attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty and serve a life sentence, but prosecutors want him to have a jury trial to decide his sentence.