Fallout from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High continues as a recently released video offers evidence that unarmed security monitors spotted Nikolas Cruz coming onto campus but did not sound the alert for an immediate lockdown. Two such watchmen have since been transferred from the Parkland, Fla., school.
One apparently saw Cruz arrive, but failed to question him or issue an order for a school lockdown that would also have triggered an immediate police response. The other reportedly hid in a closet when he learned that Cruz, whom security officials had expressed concern about based on past actions, was headed his way.
“Due to information that has recently appeared in the media and which is being reviewed by the District, Andrew Medina and David Taylor have received administrative reassignments away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School until further notice,” Broward Schools spokeswoman Nadine Drew said Wednesday. The two men have been assigned to administrative locations, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Protocol dictates that when a security monitor sees a potential threat, he has the authority to call a “Code Red.” That leads to a lockdown and a call for police.
Medina, who noticed Cruz walking with a large tote, said he didn’t issue a Code Red because he didn’t know what was in the carry-all. Instead, he radioed to Taylor to “keep your eyes open.” Taylor instead took refuge in a janitorial closet, according to a detailed account of the video in The Washington Post.
Yet another in a growing line of failures to protect that have come out in the aftermath of the tragedy that led to 17 deaths.
