<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a92cfe5aae6052d008b465a-800/screen%20shot%202018-02-25%20at%20100108%20am.png" alt="scott israel cnn" data-mce-source="Screenshot via CNN" data-mce-caption="Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel" data-link="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/967769907185225729"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/967769907185225729">Screenshot via CNN</a></span></p><p class="caption">Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel defended his department's missteps on Sunday.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>CNN host Jake Tapper engaged in a long back-and-forth with Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel on Sunday.</strong></li><li><strong>Israel said he would not resign after a Florida state lawmaker suggested he step down following his department's shortcomings in the Parkland school shooting.</strong></li><li><strong>He also defended his department's conduct on 18 tips they received about suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz's behavior and inclination to violence before the shooting.</strong></li><li><strong>In addition, Israel said he was "disgusted" by the inaction of one of his deputies.</strong></li></ul><hr><p><br>CNN host Jake Tapper took nearly half his show to grill Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel on Sunday.</br></p><p>Tapper asked about the law enforcement response to the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/parkland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida school shooting</a> that killed 17 people, and allowed the long-time sheriff to tell his side of the story after numerous allegations of negligence at his department have emerged.</p><p>Israel's department has been accused of ignoring tips about 19-year-old suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz, and for an inadequate response to the shooting in the moments after it started. As more details about the shooting have emerged, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-shooting-police-response-criticized-911-calls-missed-nikolas-cruz-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questions have mounted</a> about dozens of warning signs that law enforcement missed about Cruz.</p><p>Now, in a letter sent to Florida Governor Rick Scott, Florida state Rep. Bill Hager has called on Israel to resign on account of these claims, but Israel said he was having none of it.</p><p>"Of course I won't resign," he said on "<a href="https://www.cnn.com/shows/state-of-the-union">State of the Union</a>" Sunday. "It was a shameful letter, it was politically motivated, I never met that man, he doesn't know anything about me, and the letter was full of misinformation."</p><p>Israel said he was "disgusted" by the inaction of deputy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2">Scot Peterson,</a> who resigned on Thursday after it emerged that Peterson, who was armed, never entered the school building while the gunman opened fire.</p><p>"That's what I saw, and when I saw that, I was disgusted," Israel told Tapper. "I was just demoralized with the performance of former deputy Peterson. And that's why I called him in, and suspended him without pay as we were going to move toward termination. And he resigned."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a85bf36d0307298098b45a1-2000/ap225599965769.jpg" alt="parkland florida shooting" data-mce-source="Associated Press" data-mce-caption="A General view of atmosphere after the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida."><p class="source"><span>Associated Press</span></p><p class="caption">A General view of atmosphere after the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Gov. Scott made <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNewsSunday/status/967764147726372864">similar statements</a> on Fox <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">News</keyword>'s "Fox News Sunday."<p>"We have to do a thorough investigation, and whoever didn't do their job has to be held accountable," he said. "There's no one I talk to that is not disgusted that the local sheriff's deputy that was there did not go in and kill that individual."</p><p>Despite Peterson's failure to try to prevent the mass shooting, Israel said, his behavior does not reflect on the department's performance.</p><p>"I can only take responsibility for what I knew about," Israel told Tapper. "I've given amazing leadership to this agency ... you don't measure a person's leadership by a deputy."</p><p>Israel said only Peterson's actions during the shooting are under investigation at the moment. While there were <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-fla-sheriff-says-only-1-deputy-was-on-scene-during-shooting-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other claims</a> about deputies standing by after the shooting had stopped, Israel maintained that there is no definitive evidence of any further wrongdoing.</p><p>"Let me be perfectly clear, our investigation to this point shows that during this horrific attack while this killer was inside the school, there was only one law enforcement person, period, and that was former deputy Scot Peterson," he said. "At this point we have no reason to believe anyone acted incorrectly or correctly - that's the point of an investigation."</p><h2>Missed clues in the lead-up to the shooting</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a854b8ed030721a008b4692-2000/nikolas%20cruz.png" alt="Nikolas Cruz" data-mce-source="Instagram/cruz.nikolaus"><p class="source"><span>Instagram/cruz.nikolaus</span></p><p class="caption">Nikolas Cruz poses with a gun in a photo he posted to social media before the shooting.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><p>But Tapper had Israel answer for other alleged shortcomings within Israel's department. He pressed him about the 18 calls that were made to the department regarding Cruz's instability and behavior. The department also received a tip about a school shooting threat that Cruz on Instagram.</p><p>"Of those 18 calls, 16 we believe were handled exactly they way they should," Israel said. "Two of them we're not sure if our deputies did everything they could have or should have ... but we're looking into those two calls, and we will absolutely find out what we did and didn't do, and we'll handle that accordingly."</p><p>Israel was not sure exactly how the tip about the Instagram threat had been handled.</p><p>"I'm not sure if anything was done with that information," he said.</p><p>The Broward Sheriff's department posted a response to requests about these missed tips <a href="https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/967593892492271617">on Twitter:</a></p><p>Toward the end of the interview, Israel gave Tapper his thoughts on what should be done to ensure that police departments are able to more accurately responded to these kinds of tips and potentially devastating threats.</p><p>"The whole crux of this is giving law enforcement, giving deputies, giving police officers, not only in Broward County but in Florida and around the nation expanded power to be able to do something more than just write a report," Israel said.</p><h2>Watch clips of Israel's marathon interview below:</h2><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://t.co/yTPCDJMU2C">pic.twitter.com/yTPCDJMU2C</a></p>- Broward Sheriff  (@browardsheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/967593892492271617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As reports emerge that Broward deputies received at least 18 calls about the Florida shooter prior to the shooting, Sheriff Scott Israel says "we will absolutely find out what we did or what we didn't do" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ey5M1vON4K">https://t.co/Ey5M1vON4K</a> <a href="https://t.co/DILhP9T72F">https://t.co/DILhP9T72F</a></p>- CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/967767400027508736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"We will get to the truth," Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says, after <a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JakeTapper</a> questions him about the armed school resource officer who stayed outside of Florida school during shooting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/XD7fLHiIeG">https://t.co/XD7fLHiIeG</a></p>- CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/967765640110116864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Of course I won't resign," says Sheriff Scott Israel, after Florida state representative sends letter to Gov. Rick Scott calling for Israel's removal for "neglect of duty and incompetence" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/tQ0ai2G92p">https://t.co/tQ0ai2G92p</a></p>- CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/967769907185225729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2018</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-will-arming-teachers-guns-help-stop-school-shootings-2018-2">Henry Blodget: Will arming teachers guns help stop school shootings?</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/961QzhBb-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div></hr>

New details emerge on Florida shooting when Jake Tapper and local sheriff go toe-to-toe in marathon interview

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a943589aae6050d098b456f-2000/ap18040660486544.jpg" alt="Donald Trump" data-mce-source="AP" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump" /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>President Donald Trump said Monday he would have personally ran into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the shooting earlier this month - even if he didn't have a gun.</strong></li><li><strong>Trump was responding to reports that the armed deputy on campus never intervened in the shooting.</strong></li><li><strong>Trump has proposed several measures to combat gun violence in schools.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />President Donald Trump on Monday said he would have run into the deadly Florida high school shooting even if he didn't have a weapon. </p><p><span>"I really believe I'd run in there even if I didn't have a weapon," Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/968155353912369152">said</a>, according to The Associated Press.</span></p><p><span>Trump was responding to reports that deputy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2">Scot Peterson</a>, who resigned on Thursday amid pressure from the Broward County police department, never entered the school building in which the shooting was taking place even though he had a weapon. </span></p><p><span>Student Brandon Huff described Peterson's inaction on Miami's <a href="https://wsvn.com/news/local/student-to-stoneman-douglas-officer-you-could-have-saved-a-lot-of-lives/">WSVN</a>.</span></p><p>"The school resource officer was behind a stairwell wall, just standing there, and he had his gun drawn, and he was just pointing it at the building," Huff said. "Shots started going off inside, and you could hear them going off over and over again."</p><p>Since the shooting, Trump has proposed a variety of measures to combat gun violence, including stronger background checks, raising the age at which people can buy guns to 21, and arming teachers in the classroom.</p><p><span>"Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them," </span><a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/967472757025001472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump</a><span> tweeted Saturday. </span><span>"Very smart people. Must be firearms adept &amp; have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again - a big &amp; very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States."</span></p><p><span>Trump argued Friday for his proposal to arm some teachers, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-florida-deputy-didnt-love-children-arm-teachers2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arguing that simply placing armed officers in schools</a> wouldn't work because they don't "love the children" the same way. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-lives-matter-cofounder-on-how-to-really-make-america-great-patrisse-cullors-trayvon-martin-2018-2">How to make America great - according to one of the three cofounders of Black Lives Matter</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/w8oWzdDA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Trump slams armed Florida deputy and says he would have ran into the Florida school during the shooting even without a gun

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a8ee6e9391d9446088b4583-1024/gettyimages-918323872.jpg" alt="parkland police" data-mce-source="Joe Raedle/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Police escorting students out of Stoneman Douglas High School" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/918323872" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/918323872">Joe Raedle/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Police escorting students out of Stoneman Douglas High School</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>When police arrived on the scene of the Parkland, Florida shooting last week, they were confused by an apparent tape delay on security cameras at the high school. </strong></li><li><strong>The delay made it seem like shooter Nikolas Cruz was still on campus, although he had actually left on foot minutes earlier.</strong></li><li><strong>Police were also stymied by several other logistical issues, including poor radio transmission.</strong></li><li><strong>The Coral Springs Police Department maintains the tape delay did not affect the overall police response to the shooter and injured victims.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />When police officers and other first responders arrived on the scene of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida last week, they were apparently confused by the <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-response-20180221-story.html?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=&amp;stream=top-stories">tape delay</a> on the school's camera system, leading them to scour the building looking for the shooter long after he had already fled the scene.</p><p>According to the Sun Sentinel, when officers arrived sometime around <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/15/how-florida-school-shooting-unfolded/344040002/">2:50 pm</a>, they turned to the school's security camera footage in order to track 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz. But what they didn't realize was that the images they were seeing of Cruz on screen had taken place 20 minutes before. </p><p>Police officers chased through both floors of the school looking for the suspected shooter.</p><p>"Were monitoring the subject, he went from the third floor to the second floor ..." a police officer said over radio at 2:54 pm. "They're monitoring him on camera."</p><p><span>But by the time officers arrived and were searching for Cruz, the shooter had dropped his weapon, left the school grounds, and had <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-shows-how-the-parkland-florida-school-shooting-unfolded-2018-2#221-pm-he-then-entered-a-stairwell-with-a-black-rifle-bag-he-readied-his-rifle-and-began-shooting-into-several-rooms-2">gone to a nearby Walmart</a>. There, he bought a drink at Subway and loitered at a McDonald's nearby.</span></p><p><span>Meanwhile, police officers were dealing with a host of problems.</span></p><p><span>"We got in so fast, we're pulling them out. It made it harder to identify where the guy was," Coral Springs Police Chief Tony Pustizzi told the Sentinel about the tape delay. The Coral Springs Police Department arrived on the scene along with the Broward County Sheriff's department.</span></p><p><span>It took police some time to realize the problem.</span></p><p>"Somebody would say: 'He's on the second floor,' and we had guys on the second floor saying: 'We're on the second floor, we don't see him.'" Pustizzi told the Sentinel. "That's when we figured out there's a tape delay."</p><h2>Several other logistical issues made things even more complicated</h2><p><span>But even before the tape delay problems started, police officers reportedly could not immediately access the camera system, and were unable to find someone to help them, the Sentinel reports.</span></p><p>"Peterson would be the one that would have the access to where - to where the cameras are," one officer said over the radio, referring to security guard <span>Deputy Scot Peterson.</span><span></span></p><p>"I don't know where Peterson is," another responded.</p><p>"We need somebody with the camera system ASAP," another officer urged. "Where is the principal, who is with the principal?"</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a8ef33e391d9476008b48f5-851/screen shot 2018-02-14 at 40358 pm.png" alt="parkland school" data-mce-source="CBS Twitter" data-link="https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/963874426424057856" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/963874426424057856">CBS Twitter</a></span></p><p class="caption">A screenshot from <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="News">news</keyword> footage of the scene from a helicopter flying overhead.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Police officers also apparently were not sure if they were entering the right building when they first arrived on the scene to look for Cruz.</p><p>Srgt. Carla Kmiotek of the Coral Springs Police Department though said these complications did not affect the overall police response.</p><p>"It absolutely did not delay our response, nor did it delay the treatment of victims that was happening simultaneously," Kmiotek told Business Insider. "Obviously it was chaotic, there was not way for it not to be. Officers went in immediately to look for the bad guy based on the information that we had."</p><p>Kmiotek was inside the high school along with other police officers from her department and from the sheriff's department.</p><p>The Sentinel also reported that there were issues with the radio transmission during the the police response to the shooting due to outmoded equipment. Kmiotek though said this problem did not affect the Coral Springs Police Department.</p><p>The Broward County Sheriff's department could not be immediately reached for comment.</p><p>In the week since the shooting, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/us/police-security-florida-shooting.html">questions have arisen</a> about the police response, how Cruz was able to escape, and why it took almost an hour and a half for Cruz to be apprehended after the shooting stopped. Peterson, the armed security guard on campus, apparently did not discharge his weapon at all during the shooting.</p><p>Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters his department would look into all of these concerns.</p><p>"The response and actions of Deputy Peterson will be looked at and scrutinized, as will everyone's" Israel said, according to The New York Times.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-lives-matter-cofounder-on-how-to-really-make-america-great-patrisse-cullors-trayvon-martin-2018-2">How to make America great - according to one of the three cofounders of Black Lives Matter</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/w8oWzdDA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A tape delay in the Florida shooting security footage seems to have confused police as they were searching for the gunman

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5aff3fa91ae66230008b47ce-2000/gettyimages-959921344.jpg" border="0" alt="santa fe high school shooting greg abbott ted cruz" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Bob Levey" data-mce-caption="Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, Sen.Ted Cruz, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speak to the media during a press conference about the shooting incident at Santa Fe High School May 18, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas." /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Bob Levey</span></p><p class="caption">Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, Sen.Ted Cruz, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speak to the media during a press conference about the shooting incident at Santa Fe High School May 18, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>School resource officers "stepped up to the plate" and confronted the Santa Fe High School gunman during his attack, Texas officials said Friday.</strong></li><li><strong>The shooting left 10 people dead and wounded 10 others at the school.</strong></li><li><strong>The suspect has been identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who was arrested and is being held on a capital murder charge.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>Several law-enforcement officers were praised on Friday for quickly confronting the gunman who police say killed 10 people at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas.</p><p>"When you get these calls, every police officer, no matter where you are, has to immediately engage the active shooter, period," Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters. "There's no alternative. Because every second means that someone else is going to die."</p><p>McCraw credited two "brave officers" from the Santa Fe Independent School District, who he said "stepped up to the plate" and engaged the shooter.</p><p>One of the officers, identified in local media as school resource officer John Barnes, was shot in the arm and is undergoing surgery.</p><p>Barnes was the first person to engage the shooter on Friday and was quickly joined by the Santa Fe Independent School District police chief, who managed to pull him to safety, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5aff18981ae66221008b47b5-2000/ap18138576273775.jpg" border="0" alt="santa fe high school shooting" data-mce-source="The Houston Chronicle/Steve Gonzalez via Associated Press" data-mce-caption="Law enforcement officers respond to Santa Fe High School after an active shooter was reported on campus, Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas." /><p class="source"><span>The Houston Chronicle/Steve Gonzalez via Associated Press</span></p><p class="caption">Law enforcement officers respond to Santa Fe High School after an active shooter was reported on campus, Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A Texas state trooper also joined the scene and engaged the shooter, McCraw said.</p><p>"We know that because they were willing to run into that building and engage them right now that other lives can be saved," he added. "It's absolutely important."</p><p>Gov. Greg Abbott called the officers "heroes" on Friday and thanked them for confronting the shooter.</p><p>"Their action probably ensured that more lives were not lost," Abbott said.</p><p>The suspected gunman was quickly arrested after the officers confronted him, and he has since been identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a student at the school.</p><p>Pagourtzis is being held at the Galveston County Jail on a capital murder charge, the sheriff's office said in a statement.</p><p>The news of the officers' quick actions on Friday was met with some relief by the law-enforcement officials. Another school resource officer in Parkland, Florida, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stood frozen outside the school building</a> during a mass shooting that killed 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.</p><p>That officer, Scot Peterson, resigned in disgrace and was pilloried in the media by the Broward County Sheriff and many of the shooting survivors and the victims' families, who said Peterson should have confronted the shooter.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/corruption-is-contagious-how-political-corruption-affects-civilians-2018-5">Why some countries are more corrupt than others</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/I27O0uFO-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Texas school resource officers are being praised as 'heroes' for quickly confronting the Santa Fe shooter in the middle of the attack

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab25d8966ef4c1a008b45b1-2000/ap18079677303500.jpg" alt="great mills high school" data-mce-source="Alex Brandon/AP" data-mce-caption="Crime scene tape is used around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Great Mills." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Maryland-School-Shooting/6c22755ede684b8991e5c7000094a8a0/1/1" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Maryland-School-Shooting/6c22755ede684b8991e5c7000094a8a0/1/1">Alex Brandon/AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">Crime scene tape  around Great Mills High School, the scene of a shooting on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Blaine Gaskill, a school resource officer assigned to guard Great Mills High School in Maryland, sprung into action to confront an active shooter at the school on Tuesday.</strong></li><li><strong>The local county sheriff's department praised Gaskill's efforts, saying his actions saved lives.</strong></li><li><strong>The shooter was killed, although it is unclear whether he died at the hand of Gaskill's bullet or his own. Two other students were critically injured.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>Just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, a 17-year-old student opened fire at Great Mills High School in Maryland, shooting two students who remain in critical condition.</p><p>That's when Blaine Gaskill, a 34-year-old sheriff's deputy assigned to guard Great Mills, sprung into action.</p><p>"Our school resource officer who was stationed inside the school was alerted," St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said during a press conference. "He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter. During that engagement, he fired a round at the shooter. Simultaneously, the shooter fired a round as well."</p><p>The shooter was killed, but it is unclear whether Gaskill fired the deadly shot or the shooter turned the gun on himself.</p><p>Either way, the resource officer is credited with defusing the situation within a minute, Cameron said, potentially saving lives.</p><p>Gaskill, who left the scene unharmed, was widely praised for his action.</p><p>"It looks like the [school resource officer] did exactly what the SRO was trained to do," St. Mary's Schools Superintendent James Scott Smith <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-school-resource-officer-20180320-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Tuesday</a>, according to The Baltimore Sun.</p><p>Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/20/maryland-school-resource-officer-has-stared-gun-in-face-to-save-lives-before.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Gaskill a "tough guy" who "took the right kind of action."</p><p>"I think while it's still tragic, [Gaskill] may have saved other people's lives," Hogan added.</p><h2>Not Gaskill's first heroic day</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab25dc798e6e51f008b458f-1216/ap18079804066703.jpg" alt="blaine gaskill maryland" data-mce-source="AP" data-mce-caption="This undated photo provided by the St. Mary's Sheriff's Office, shows Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, a school resource officer who engaged a shooter at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Md., on Tuesday, March 20, 2018." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Maryland-School-Shooting/63ea155a5d8447229a6ae1e1740def8c/3/1" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Maryland-School-Shooting/63ea155a5d8447229a6ae1e1740def8c/3/1">AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">School resource officer Blaine Gaskill.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>This wasn't the first time Gaskill, who has been with the sheriff's office for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/school-resource-officer-blaine-gaskill-helped-stop-gunman-at-a-maryland-high-school/2018/03/20/639a8e42-2c66-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html?utm_term=.105cc50f8f76" target="_blank" rel="noopener">six years</a>, thwarted a potentially deadly situation.</p><p>In July 2016, the deputy arrived at a couple's home in response to a complaint about people arguing in a driveway, according to <a href="http://www.somdnews.com/enterprise/spotlight/great-mills-man-accused-of-pulling-gun-on-deputy/article_dba395a8-6822-553f-8ae8-61bc391b1171.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Enterprise</a>, a local newspaper in St. Mary's County, Maryland.</p><p>When Gaskill tried to intervene, the husband pointed a gun at him, at which point Gaskill calmly pleaded with him to drop the gun, The Enterprise reported. The man relented when his wife stood in the way and convinced him to disarm himself.</p><p>"In that split second, a decision has to be made," said Cameron, the county sheriff. "In this case, the officer used exemplary judgment."</p><p>Gaskill's response on Tuesday stands in stark contrast to that of a resource officer who was excoriated last month for failing to confront the shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were shot and killed.</p><p>On March 15, the Broward County Sheriff's Office in Florida <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-shooting-video-shows-scot-peterson-armed-deputy-outside-building-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released surveillance video</a> showing deputy Scot Peterson waiting outside the building where 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly gunned down students and teachers. Peterson resigned in disgrace roughly a week after the shooting.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/journalist-vegas-tenold-investigated-neo-nazis-for-six-years-2018-3">Neo-Nazi groups let a journalist in their meetings and rallies - here's what he saw</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/INA3p6uN-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The sheriff's deputy assigned to protect Great Mills High stopped the Maryland school shooter in under a minute

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a909a300c157c0e098b467e-2000/rtx4yafv.jpg" alt="broward county sheriff scott israel" data-mce-source="Reuters/Michael Laughlin" data-mce-caption="Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks before the start of a CNN town hall meeting at the BB&amp;T Center, in Sunrise, Florida, U.S. February 21, 2018." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Michael Laughlin</span></p><p class="caption">Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks before the start of a CNN town hall meeting at the BB&amp;T Center, in Sunrise, Florida, U.S. February 21, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is facing a firestorm of criticism over the way his deputies handled the Florida shooting and warning signs about the alleged gunman.</strong></li><li><strong>Florida state officials have announced they'll investigate the Broward Sheriff's Office's response to the shooting.</strong></li><li><strong>Dozens of Republican state lawmakers signed a letter demanding Israel's suspension for "malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty [or] incompetence."</strong></li><li><strong>Israel has responded with defiance, describing his leadership as "amazing" and dismissing calls to resign.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />The sheriff who steered the community of Parkland, Florida, through a high-school shooting earlier this month now faces mounting calls to resign or be removed as details surface about his office's handling of the massacre.</p><p>Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is under fire for a number of perceived missteps his department made both during the shooting and over the last <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-shooting-police-response-criticized-911-calls-missed-nikolas-cruz-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decade's worth of interactions</a> with the alleged gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.</p><p>The first major blow came last Thursday, when Israel announced one of his deputies failed to confront Cruz during the rampage.</p><p>The deputy, Scot Peterson, was an armed school resource officer stationed on campus when the gunfire broke out. Israel said Peterson <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stood outside the building and did "nothing"</a> as the gunman mowed down 17 students and staff members, firing nearly 150 shots in seven minutes.</p><p>"I am devastated," Israel said. "Sick to my stomach. He never went in."</p><p>Peterson quickly resigned, but Israel's crisis only escalated from there. Reports emerged late last week that three other Broward County deputies arrived at the scene and similarly declined to enter the building.</p><p>Instead, it was officers from the nearby Coral Springs Police Department who first entered, reacting with shock and dismay when none of the Broward County deputies joined them, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/parkland-school-shooting-broward-deputies/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN reported</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-sheriff-scott-israel-responds-to-critics-cnn-interview-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel told CNN's Jake Tapper</a> on Sunday that his department was still investigating the Coral Springs officers' claims, but hadn't yet drawn conclusions.</p><p>"At this point, we have no reason to believe that any one acted incorrectly or correctly," he said.</p><h2>'Amazing' leadership</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a909f64aae605f0028b4624-2000/gettyimages-918375574.jpg" alt="broward county sheriff scott israel" data-mce-source="Joe Raedle/Getty" data-mce-caption="Scott Israel, Sheriff of Broward County, (L) and Florida Governor Rick Scott speak to the media as they visit Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school killed 17 people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida." data-link="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/918375574" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/918375574">Joe Raedle/Getty</a></span></p><p class="caption">Scott Israel, Sheriff of Broward County, (L) and Florida Governor Rick Scott speak to the media as they visit Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school killed 17 people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida.</p></div><p></p></div></div>But long before the shooting, Broward County deputies had visited Cruz's home <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/broward-county-sheriff-fbi-tips-nikolas-cruz-school-shooter-no-follow-ups-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 23 times since 2008</a>, though some reports indicate it was as many as 45.</p><p>In an <a href="https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/967593892492271617" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official statement</a> on Saturday, the sheriff's office said, "STOP REPORTING 39; IT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE."</p><p>But <a href="https://app.box.com/s/m0jzfwsuriv9yq9qtrjp9ztxxz1j0pjj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">records of the 911 calls</a> show that police responded to a variety of reports where Cruz had become violent, run away from home, harmed himself, or threatened to shoot up a school.</p><p>And none of the home visits resulted in an arrest or an involuntary commitment to a mental health facility, which would have prevented Cruz from buying or possessing a gun.</p><p>Israel said his office is investigating two of those 911 calls, but that the others were handled appropriately.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-sheriff-scott-israel-responds-to-critics-cnn-interview-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On CNN Sunday,</a> a defiant Israel defended his leadership as "amazing" and blamed criticisms of his department on the lone deputy who failed to confront Cruz.</p><p>But his reassurances largely fell on deaf ears.</p><p>Shortly after the interview, Florida Gov. Rick Scott directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article202074844.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigate</a> the Broward County sheriff's office's response to the shooting, and 74 Republican state lawmakers <a href="https://twitter.com/richardcorcoran/status/967839134151774210" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed a letter</a> calling for Israel's suspension for "malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty [or] incompetence."</p><p>"The failures of Sheriff Israel and his deputies during and after the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, and their failures to intervene regarding Nikolas Jacob Cruz in the years, months, and days leading up to that shooting, are unacceptable and unforgivable," the letter read. "As a result of Sheriff Israel's failures, students and teachers died."</p><p>Israel was also the sheriff in charge when his department responded to the shooting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport in January 2017. A <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article154497524.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report from his office concluded</a> that confusion, miscommunication, and missteps let to mass chaos at the scene, where 12,000 people were when <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shooting-reported-at-floridas-ft-lauderdale-airport-2017-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a gunman shot 13 people, killing five</a>.</p><p>Other controversies include Israel allegedly failing to report that a campaign donor paid for a yacht cruise after his election in 2012, and hiring childhood friends, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shooting-reported-at-floridas-ft-lauderdale-airport-2017-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Miami Herald</a>.</p><p>Israel has said his office will cooperate with the Florida state investigation, and dismissed calls for him to step down.</p><p>"Of course I won't resign," he said on CNN Sunday.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/black-lives-matter-cofounder-on-how-to-really-make-america-great-patrisse-cullors-trayvon-martin-2018-2">How to make America great - according to one of the three cofounders of Black Lives Matter</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/w8oWzdDA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The sheriff who handled the Florida shooting is facing a firestorm of criticism for him to resign

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a909614aae60539028b468f-2000/rtx4xtgr.jpg" alt="nikolas cruz" data-mce-source="Reuters/Mike Stocker" data-mce-caption="Nikolas Cruz, facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appears in court for a status hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. February 19, 2018." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Mike Stocker</span></p><p class="caption">Nikolas Cruz, facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appears in court for a status hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. February 19, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The Broward County Sheriff's Office released records of 23 calls deputies received about the Florida shooting suspect, Nikolas Cruz.</strong></li><li><strong>Two of those calls warned that Cruz could become a school shooter.</strong></li><li><strong>The FBI was also tipped off that Cruz was going to "get into a school and just shoot the place up," according to a transcript of the call.</strong></li><li><strong>None of the tips were thoroughly investigated, even as people close to Cruz grew increasingly alarmed about his behavior.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Barely a week after 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz allegedly gunned down 17 people at his former high school, authorities at the local and federal levels have revealed that they each fielded calls warning that Cruz could shoot up a school - but they never followed up.</p><p>The Broward County Sheriff's Office on Friday <a href="https://app.box.com/s/m0jzfwsuriv9yq9qtrjp9ztxxz1j0pjj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a list of 23 calls</a> it received requesting service at Cruz's home, including 18 specifically about Cruz. Two of those calls were from people who knew Cruz and expressed fear that he would shoot up a school.</p><p>The FBI, too, is under <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-tip-caller-warned-nikolas-cruz-could-shoot-up-school-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavy scrutiny</a> after admitting last week the agency failed to follow protocol in handling a tip that Cruz had a "desire to kill" and could commit a school shooting.</p><p>Newly released records and transcripts of those calls reveal a series of instances where law-enforcement agencies neglected to investigate or take action against Cruz, even while family members, neighbors, and other people who knew him grew increasingly alarmed about his behavior.</p><h2>'A school shooter in the making'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a903a90aae60520008b4671-2000/rtx4yafv.jpg" alt="broward county sheriff scott israel" data-mce-source="Reuters/Michael Laughlin" data-mce-caption="Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks before the start of a CNN town hall meeting at the BB&amp;T Center, in Sunrise, Florida, U.S. February 21, 2018." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Michael Laughlin</span></p><p class="caption">Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks before the start of a CNN town hall meeting at the BB&amp;T Center, in Sunrise, Florida, U.S. February 21, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The <a href="https://twitter.com/browardsheriff/status/967121358105862145" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Broward County Sheriff's Office said Friday</a> that none of the 23 calls they received in the last decade "appeared arrestable under Florida law," but it added that the two calls involving school shooting threats are being investigated internally.</p><p>One call occurred in 2016, after someone alerted authorities that Cruz posted an Instagram picture indicating he "planned to shoot up the school."</p><p>According to the call records, a deputy determined that Cruz had knives and a BB gun and informed a school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but it's unclear what the officer did with the information.</p><p>That school resource officer was Scot Peterson, who resigned on Thursday following revelations that he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">didn't intervene</a> during the shooting, despite being armed and standing outside the building.</p><p>The second call being investigated by the Broward County sheriff's office occurred in November 2017, after an anonymous caller in Massachusetts warned that Cruz "could be a school shooter in the making" and was collecting guns and knives.</p><p>The call records said "no report was initiated" as a result of the tip, and a deputy later said he referred the caller to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Many of the other calls the Broward sheriff's office listed were made by Cruz's mother Lynda, often regarding violent outbursts or instances where Cruz ran away from home or went missing.</p><p>One caller reported in 2016 that Cruz made a suicide attempt by ingesting gasoline, cut himself, possessed "items concerning hate related communications/symbols," and expressed a desire to buy a gun for hunting.</p><p>The call records showed that a mental health counselor was consulted and said Cruz didn't meet the criteria to be involuntarily committed to a mental-health facility - a move that would have legally barred Cruz from possessing or buying guns.</p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a9037b03c314b26008b46ba-2000/gettyimages-918323878.jpg" alt="florida shooting students" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Joe Raedle" data-mce-caption="People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school that reportedly killed and injured multiple people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida." /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images/Joe Raedle</span></p><p class="caption">People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a shooting at the school that reportedly killed and injured multiple people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><h2>'Something is gonna happen'</h2><p>But the FBI has received the bulk of the nationwide outrage so far over law-enforcement's handling of Cruz. The tip fumbling prompted calls for the director to resign and triggered a Justice Department review.</p><p>The person who called the agency's tip line in January told the bureau that Cruz was "going to explode" and "get into a school and just shoot the place up," according to a transcript <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fbi-tip-line-caller-said-nikolas-cruz-is-going-to-explode-1519415442" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first published by The Wall Street Journal</a> on Friday.</p><p>The tipster said she was worried about Cruz, knew of his previous violent outbursts, and said she made the call because she wanted a "clear conscience."</p><p>She added that she believed Cruz had the mental capacity of a 12- or 14-year-old and had made a series of disturbing Instagram posts about wanting to kill himself and others.</p><p>"Something is gonna happen," she said. "Because he's - he doesn't have the mental capacity. He can't - he's so outraged if someone talks to him about certain things."</p><h2>'The truth will come out in time'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a85973fd0307232008b467d-1500/florida school shooting aftermath.jpg" alt="florida school shooting aftermath" data-mce-source="Mark Wilson/Getty" data-mce-caption="PARKLAND, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Police control a road near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, on February 15, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Police arrested the suspect after a short manhunt, and have identified him as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)" /><p class="source"><span>Mark Wilson/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">PARKLAND, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Police control a road near the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed by a gunman yesterday, on February 15, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Police arrested the suspect after a short manhunt, and have identified him as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)</p></div><p></p></div></div>First-responders to the high-school shooting are also increasingly under fire since the Broward County sheriff revealed that Peterson did "nothing" to intervene in the shooting</p><p>Peterson has faced criticism over his actions from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-students-react-scot-peterson-failed-to-confront-gunman-nikolas-cruz-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survivors</a>, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Broward County sheriff</a>, and even <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-florida-deputy-didnt-love-children-arm-teachers2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Donald Trump</a>.</p><p>But Peterson wasn't the only deputy who hesitated to enter the building during the gunfire - three other Broward County Sheriff's deputies also stayed outside the school, hiding behind their vehicles with their pistols drawn, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/23/politics/parkland-school-shooting-broward-deputies/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN reported Friday</a>.</p><p>Instead, it was cops from the Coral Springs Police Department that first entered the building upon arrival, Coral Springs sources told CNN. Those officers were apparently stunned and upset that the Broward County deputies didn't join them inside the school.</p><p>Coral Springs Police Chief Tony Pustizzi addressed some of the rank-and-file officers' concerns about the incident in an internal email CNN obtained.</p><p>The email acknowledged that "another agency has given the impression that it had provided the majority of the rescue efforts," but reassured the officers that "this issue will be addressed, and the truth will come out in time."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-politicians-character-is-more-important-than-their-capability-2018-2">Why a politician's character is more important than their capability, according to a reputation expert</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qNe993PA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Local authorities and the FBI got multiple warnings that the suspected Florida shooter was dangerous - but no one followed up

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a9043a8211545a3088b45fd-2000/rtx4ymmd.jpg" alt="donald trump" data-mce-source="Kevin Lamarque/Reuters" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump" /><p class="source"><span>Kevin Lamarque/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>President Donald Trump gave a freewheeling, raucous speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that was reminiscent of a campaign rally.</strong></li><li><strong>In the almost hour and a half long speech Trump attacked Hillary Clinton, Democrats in Congress, John McCain, the World Trade Organization, a deputy in Florida who did not stop last week's mass shooting, and more.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />President Donald Trump on Friday returned to campaign-style rhetoric at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he delivering a speech reminiscent of some of his raucous rallies during the 2016 race.</p><p>Trump used the nearly hour and a half speech to tout the recently passed GOP tax law, make <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bald-spot-cpac-speech-2018-2">jokes about his hair</a>, attack political rivals including Hillary Clinton and John McCain, advocate for a program to arm teachers, praise the military, and much more. </p><p>In the speech, Trump:</p><ul><li>Called Hillary Clinton a "crooked candidate" and slammed her for failing to campaign in swing states. The "crooked candidate" comment drew chants of "Lock her up" from the CPAC crowd, more than 15 months after the election.</li><li>Attacked John McCain for his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mccain-health-care-vote-video-breakdown-2017-7">famous thumbs-down vote</a> against a GOP bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. "Remember, one person walked into a room and he was supposed to go this way, and he said he was going this way," Trump said, giving a thumbs up. "And walked in and he went this way and everybody said, 'What happened? What was that all about?' Who was that? I don't know. ... I don't want to be controversial, so I won't say his name."</li><li>Went after Democrats on several issues, including voting against the tax bill and immigration.</li><li>Suggested that without increased military funding, people in the audience "<span>may not have your houses, your homes, your beautiful communities."</span></li><li>Asked the crowd whether they would want to keep the recent tax cuts or the Second Amendment rights, gauging cheers for each. The Second Amendment appeared to win the enthusiasm contest.</li><li>Slammed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-florida-deputy-coward-shooting-2018-2">the armed Florida deputy, Scot Peterson, who failed</a> to engage the shooter during the deadly school shooting at <span>Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. "He turned out not to be a credit to law enforcement, that I can tell you," Trump said.</span></li><li><span>Reiterated what he says is a need to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-armed-teacher-bonuses-2018-2?r=UK&amp;IR=T">arm teacher in schools</a> to prevent school shootings. "These teachers are talented with weaponry and guns and they feel safe," Trump said. "And I'd rather have somebody who loves their students and wants to protect their student rather than somebody standing outside that doesn't know anybody."</span></li><li><span>Recited the lyrics to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-snake-poem-2016-1">a song about a "vicious snake"</a> that bites a "tender woman" after she takes in the snake - an analogy for taking in refugees that he frequently spouted along the campaign trail.</span></li><li><span>Criticized current US trade policies, promising to go after the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization, which he said "created China."</span></li><li>Joked <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bald-spot-cpac-speech-2018-2">about his hair</a>: "I try like hell to hide that bald spot."<span></span></li></ul><p>The president had been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-change-in-demeanor-2018-2">more subdued of late</a> during public appearances, with a straightforward State of the Union address last month and more routine public appearances. But the unfettered speech on Friday and a recent uptick in Twitter activity seem to reflect a return to a more traditional Trumpian stance.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-a-politicians-character-is-more-important-than-their-capability-2018-2">Why a politician's character is more important than their capability, according to a reputation expert</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qNe993PA-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Trump just gave his most freewheeling, wild speech in months

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b042a65e3186e22008b54d5-2000/ap18139665871206.jpg" border="0" alt="santa fe shooting" data-mce-source="Associated Press/David J. Phillip" data-mce-caption="Students are checked before entering Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Saturday, May 19, 2018." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/David J. Phillip</span></p><p class="caption">Students are checked before entering Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas to retrieve their belongings on Saturday, May 19, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>School resource officers confronted the suspected Santa Fe high-school shooter four minutes after gunfire was first reported, and captured him after another 25 minutes, authorities said.</strong></li><li><strong>The officers, particularly Officer John Barnes, were praised as heroes for their quick response.</strong></li><li><strong>It's unclear if any of the 10 shooting victims were killed by friendly fire from police.</strong></li><li><strong>Barnes remains in hospital after sustaining massive blood loss from the shotgun bullet he took to his arm.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>Two school resource officers have been hailed as heroes after they quickly confronted the suspected gunman who fatally shot 10 people at a Texas high school, and kept him isolated until he eventually surrendered, the Galveston County Sheriff said Monday.</p><p>The officers engaged with the shooter four minutes after the first gunshots were reported, and assumed positions in a hallway while the gunman was cornered in a classroom, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said at a news conference.</p><p>"The two officers that engaged that individual within four minutes, or approximately four minutes, they're heroes," Trochesset said. "They contained him in that one area, isolated to them, engaging with them, so he did no damage to other classes."</p><p>What's still unclear is whether any of the 10 victims were killed in the crossfire between police and the shooter. Trochesset said he didn't believe any were, but he couldn't confirm it until he receives autopsy results.</p><p>"There were minimal shots fired, at least from us, from law enforcement," Trochesset said. "But the individual was still trying to shoot us."</p><p>One of the school resource officers, John Barnes, was critically injured in the shooting after taking a bullet to the arm. Barnes was the first person to engage the shooter, Texas Lt. Gov. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/santa-fe-shooting-school-resource-officers-praised-texas-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dan Patrick said Friday</a>.</p><p>After he was shot, Barnes lay bleeding on the floor and urged his fellow officer to leave him behind and help evacuate the remaining students, Barnes' stepfather Ronald Hatchett told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/us/santa-fe-officer-wounded-john-barnes.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>. The other officer returned shortly afterward and tied a tourniquet around Barnes' arm.</p><p>"It was entirely within his character to do what he did," Hatchett said of Barnes. "He was first through the door. He suffered for being first through the door."</p><p>The gunman, who had originally planned to kill himself, ultimately "didn't have the courage to commit the suicide" and surrendered to authorities, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/santa-fe-shooter-police-gunfire-15-minutes-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gov. Greg Abbott said</a>.</p><h2>'Every second means that someone else is going to die'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5aff18981ae66221008b47b5-2000/ap18138576273775.jpg" border="0" alt="santa fe high school shooting" data-mce-source="The Houston Chronicle/Steve Gonzalez via Associated Press" data-mce-caption="Law enforcement officers respond to Santa Fe High School after an active shooter was reported on campus, Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas." /><p class="source"><span>The Houston Chronicle/Steve Gonzalez via Associated Press</span></p><p class="caption">Police took 4 minutes to corner the Santa Fe shooter and 25 to capture him.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The shot to Barnes' arm left his right elbow shattered, and drained him of massive amounts of blood, Hatchett said.</p><p>His heart even stopped while he was being airlifted to the hospital, and again while he was in surgery.</p><p>Doctors are unsure how his arm will be affected, and Barnes' kidneys are "in peril," Hatchett added. But over the weekend, doctors briefly paused some of Barnes' sedatives so he could open his eyes, hold his wife's hand, and hear his family members speak to him.</p><p>"Everybody said, 'You're a real hero, John - we're so proud of what you've been doing," Hatchett told The Times. "We told him we're going to be here with you."</p><p>A number of law-enforcement officials and Texas lawmakers have heaped praise on the officers for their quick actions since the shooting on Friday.</p><p>The incident comes in contrast with a similar school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February, in which the armed school resource officer <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/armed-officer-florida-shooting-resigns-scot-peterson-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed to confront the shooter</a> and instead stood frozen outside the school building as 17 students and staff members were gunned down in the six-minute massacre.</p><p>That officer, Scot Peterson, resigned in disgrace and was vilified as a coward by many of the shooting survivors, families of the victims, and even the Broward County sheriff himself.</p><p>In the wake of the Santa Fe shootin, officials have sought to underscore the importance of confronting active shooters as quickly as possible.</p><p>"When you get these calls, every police officer, no matter where you are, has to immediately engage the active shooter, period," Stephen McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters last Friday. "There's no alternative. Because every second means that someone else is going to die."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-next-north-south-korea-peace-treaty-2018-4">What will probably happen with the North and South Korean peace treaty</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/WjFBmKHL-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Police took 4 minutes to corner the Santa Fe shooter and 25 to capture him - here's what we know about how the lengthy firefight went down

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab7a9353c82584e008b48f5-900/screen shot 2018-03-25 at 94750 am.png" border="0" alt="An NRATV video" data-mce-source="Screenshot via NRA/Facebook" data-mce-caption="Colion Noir" data-link="https://www.facebook.com/NRA/videos/2122101747807845/" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NRA/videos/2122101747807845/">Screenshot via NRA/Facebook</a></span></p><p class="caption">NRATV personality Colion Noir.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>An NRATV host disparaged the Parkland shooting survivors before and during the March for Our Lives protests, saying they are only relevant because people at their school died.</strong></li><li><strong>He also criticized the students' age as a disqualifier for talking about gun measures.</strong></li><li><strong>Colion Noir made an allusion to the Black Panthers in defending the NRA's stance on guns, as well.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>An NRATV host levied a fresh set of attacks against the Parkland, Florida shooting survivors ahead of Saturday's March for Our Lives protest.</p><p>Host Colion Noir, whose real name is Collins Iyare Idehen Jr., said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h72Z_b8X5IA&amp;t=12s">in a video</a> put out by the National Rifle Association on Thursday that the shooting survivors rallying for gun control measures are only relevant because of the horrific deaths of their classmates.</p><p>"To all the kids from Parkland getting ready to use your First Amendment to attack everyone else's Second Amendment at your march on Saturday, I wish a hero like Blaine Gaskill had been at Marjory Douglas High School last month, because your classmates would still be alive and no one would know your names, because the media would have completely and utterly ignored your story, the way they ignored his," Noir said.</p><p>Noir was referencing <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blaine-gaskill-armed-school-resource-officer-confronted-maryland-shooter-2018-3">the story of a Blaine Gaskill</a>, a 34-year-old armed sheriff's deputy assigned to Great Mills High School in Maryland, who stopped a shooting there this week in under a minute by engaging the gunman. Gaskill's story was contrasted with that of deputy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/florida-shooting-video-shows-scot-peterson-armed-deputy-outside-building-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scot Peterson</a> in the Florida shooting, who was also armed but failed to pursue suspected shooter <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nikolas-cruz-jail-records-isolation-sleep-medication-visitors-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nikolas Cruz</a> as he went on a rampage that killed 17 people.</p><p>Gaskill's story has received mainstream <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> attention this week for a number of major outlets, including <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blaine-gaskill-armed-school-resource-officer-confronted-maryland-shooter-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Business Insider</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/03/20/us/ap-us-maryland-school-shooting.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/us/maryland-school-shooting-resource-officer-response-trnd/index.html">CNN</a>.</p><p>Noir sharply criticized the Parkland shooting survivors ahead of the series of marches they helped organize this weekend, which drew crowds of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/march-for-our-lives-protestors-call-for-end-to-gun-violence-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds of thousands of people in cities across the US</a>.</p><p>"They're running Season 5 of their gun-control reality show, featuring the freshest cast of characters yet in their modern march on Washington - except this time for less freedom," he said. "These kids ought to be marching against their own hypocritical belief structure."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab692b199c85f2f008b46ab-2000/ap18083635452776.jpg" border="0" alt="david hogg" data-mce-source="Andrew Harnik/AP" data-mce-caption="David Hogg, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., speaks during the &amp;quotMarch for Our Lives&quot; rally in support of gun control in Washington, Saturday, March 24, 2018." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Student-Gun-Protests/7b516988ed244226834f193a05942fa8/25/0" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Student-Gun-Protests/7b516988ed244226834f193a05942fa8/25/0">Andrew Harnik/AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">David Hogg, a survivor of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, speaks during the "March for Our Lives" rally in Washington on March 24, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Noir's attacks on the Parkland survivors are but the latest in a series of attacks on the fiery and controversial activists, which have included conspiracy theories that some of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-hogg-calls-out-dana-loesch-nra-florida-shooting-reaction-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">students like David Hogg</a> are "crisis actors" trained to push a gun control agenda. There is no evidence to support such claims.</p><p>In another <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NRA/videos/2122101747807845/">video</a> posted to Facebook on the day of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-march-for-our-lives-crowds-2018-3">nationwide rallies</a>, Noir implicitly attacked Hogg's and his fellow students' young age as a disqualifier for their activism.</p><p>"From where I'm standing, it looks like a march to burn the Constitution and rewrite the parts that they don't like in crayon," Noir said.</p><h2>Questionable comments about race and gun laws</h2><p>In the same video, Noir, who is African-American, made some bizarre claims about race and gun rights.</p><p>Responding to a claim made by Hogg over the weekend that not enough black voices are featured in the gun control debate, Noir seemed to praise Malcolm X and the Black Panther movement - liberal activists who stood at the opposite end from the conservative base the NRA is a part of.</p><p>"Who the hell gave David Hogg the authority to put on his white man's burden costume to save me from myself by marching to restrict my right to own a gun that at one point I wasn't considered human enough to own?" Noir said.</p><p>"I'm fighting for the same rights Malcolm X, MLK, and the Black Panthers fought for, but because he's a white boy talking about white privilege it's OK for him to march on Washington to restrict your freedom," he added.</p><p>Racism against black self defense during the black power era actually <a href="https://www.history.com/news/black-panthers-gun-control-nra-support-mulford-act">inspired strict gun control laws</a> in states like California.</p><p>Meanwhile, the NRA has often <a href="https://www.history.com/news/black-panthers-gun-control-nra-support-mulford-act">stood up in defense</a> of people like George Zimmerman, who shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in Florida in 2012.</p><p>The NRA was also among the groups that <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nra-california-open-carry-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported repealing open-carry laws</a> in California in the 1960s in response to the prevalence of Black Panther organizations.</p><p>In the wake of attacks on him and his friends like this one, Hogg has taken a tough stance on his critics - even addresssing NRA members directly about spokeswoman Dana Loesch.</p><p>"Is she actually saying anything, or is that just a tone to distract the American public and distract her NRA members from the fact that she's not serving them? She is serving the gun manufacturers," <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/david-hogg-calls-out-dana-loesch-nra-florida-shooting-reaction-2018-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hogg said on ABC's "This Week" last month</a>. "She's not serving the people of the NRA, because the people that are joining the NRA, 99.9% of them are amazing people that just want to be safe, responsible gun owners. And I fully can support that."</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/feras-fayyad-last-men-in-aleppo-russia-propaganda-against-syria-white-helmets-2018-3">The story behind Russia's smear campaign against Syria's White Helmets</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/nhBEjYvM-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

'No one would know your names': NRA TV host slammed the Parkland kids ahead of the March for Our Lives rallies

Experts say the Trump allies and right-wing media outlets facing defamation lawsuits from the voting-technology company Dominion could be on the hook for huge sums if they lose

You Searched For "scot peterson" and got 11 results

New details emerge on Florida shooting when Jake Tapper and local sheriff go toe-to-toe in marathon interview

Michal Kranz

Trump slams armed Florida deputy and says he would have ran into the Florida school during the shooting even without a gun

Michal Kranz

A tape delay in the Florida shooting security footage seems to have confused police as they were searching for the gunman

Michal Kranz

Texas school resource officers are being praised as 'heroes' for quickly confronting the Santa Fe shooter in the middle of the attack

Michelle Mark

The sheriff's deputy assigned to protect Great Mills High stopped the Maryland school shooter in under a minute

Brennan Weiss

The sheriff who handled the Florida shooting is facing a firestorm of criticism for him to resign

Michelle Mark

Local authorities and the FBI got multiple warnings that the suspected Florida shooter was dangerous - but no one followed up

Michelle Mark

Trump just gave his most freewheeling, wild speech in months

Bob Bryan

Police took 4 minutes to corner the Santa Fe shooter and 25 to capture him - here's what we know about how the lengthy firefight went down

Michelle Mark

'No one would know your names': NRA TV host slammed the Parkland kids ahead of the March for Our Lives rallies

Michal Kranz

Experts say the Trump allies and right-wing media outlets facing defamation lawsuits from the voting-technology company Dominion could be on the hook for huge sums if they lose

Jacob Shamsian