Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre reenactment will bring gunfire back to Parkland campus
PARKLAND - Max Schacter is tortured knowing how his son Alex died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting in 2018.
But seeing where it happened and why, when he toured the building last month - led him to an idea - let the people who could make real change see it for themselves.
So, Schacter organized a bipartisan congressional visit.
On Friday, August 4th, a group will tour the 1200 building led by Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz and Republican Congressman Mario Diaz Balart.
"I want them to see what happens when you don't prioritize... Kids die and we can't let that happen," he said.
After the congressional visit, a reenactment of the mass shooting will take place.
It's part of the civil lawsuit against former school resource officer Scot Peterson, who did not go into the 1200 building as the massacre was unfolding.
Peterson, who was acquitted of criminal charges, says he didn't know where the shots were coming from. The families who are suing believe Peterson should be held accountable and his failure to confront the shooting resulted in more carnage.
"He stood there for 40 minutes. Even as other officers arrived and went in the building. He did nothing to render aid," said Tony Montalto whose daughter Gina was murdered.
Peterson's lawyer Michael Piper released a statement Thursday, which reads in part:
"A jury acquitted Scot Peterson of criminal charges. The testimony of multiple witnesses who perceived shots coming from all over the school campus supports the jury's determination ...civil plaintiffs now will stage a video and audio recorded choreographed reenactment to counter the testimony of the people who were there that day."
Floors are still covered with dried blood, books and computers remain on desks and classrooms contain wilted Valentine's Day flowers and deflated balloons.
After Friday, the Broward school district says it will begin demolishing the building. It had remained standing as evidence in the Nikolas Cruz and Peterson criminal trials, looming over the campus behind a chain-link fence.
Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty in 2021. The former Stoneman Douglas student was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 after his jury could not unanimously agree he should receive a death sentence.
