Executive Viewpoint Dr. Mike Hernandez, AAEA Executive Director
SAFETY MUST BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY The story below may be harrowing, and most of you may remember the incident. I apologize for the details, but I promise there is an important point. On Valentine's Day in 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, witnessed the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, killing fourteen students and three staff members. The murderer, a former student, gained access to the school through an unlocked and unstaffed gate. Once inside building 1200, he unleashed a hail of bullets down hallways and into classrooms through classroom door windows, resulting in the deaths of eleven individuals and injuring thirteen within the first 2 minutes and 8 seconds on the first floor. Moving to the second floor, he fired shots but did not hit anyone before proceeding to the third floor, where he claimed six more lives and injured four more individuals in the final 1 minute and 12 seconds of the attack. Before leaving the building, the murderer shot through the faculty lounge window and reached in to open the door. He then set up a bipod to stabilize his weapon, reloaded, and began shooting at fleeing students outside, adopting a sniper-like approach. Fortunately, hurricane impact-resistant glass in the windows prevented the death toll from escalating. Just six minutes after entering the building at 2:27 pm, the murderer abandoned his rifle in another stairwell and exited the school, attempting to blend in with the students evacuating due to the fire alarm initiated by the gunfire. He successfully left the campus and went to a Subway restaurant to get an ICEE before eventually heading to a McDonald's. Below is a chronological timeline of the methodically planned massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School: • 2:19 pm - An Uber dropped off the murderer at the front of MSD with his AR-15 concealed in a guitar case. • 2:21 pm - The murderer entered building 12. The murderer NEVER entered any of the classrooms. He shot people in the hallways and through the classroom door windows. • 2:23 pm - A school resource officer arrived at the front of the building. He never entered the building on the day of the massacre and remained outside for the next 48 minutes. • 2:27 pm - The murderer escaped the building. •
2:32 pm - Law enforcement entered the building.
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3:37 pm - The murderer was apprehended.
You may now be asking why I am rehashing all this. Recently, at the request of one of the victim's parents, I had the honor of attending an event along with approximately 200 other school administrators and law enforcement officers from all over the country. This event was organized by one of the victim's parents, Max Schachter. Honestly, when I received the invitation, I was not thrilled about going at all. The invitation included a verbal description of what the event would entail. The part that gave me a queasy feeling was that we would walk through building 1200. This is where the horrific event occurred. The building has been sealed since that day. Only the jury and parents have been through the facility since Valentine's Day 2018. All of the carnage and DNA were still in place, just like the day it happened. However, after a late-night phone call from Max, I was convinced that I wanted to support the parents and school personnel who dealt with the trauma and were trying to ensure that this did not happen to others.
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