JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The school resource deputy assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School did not intervene the day a gunman went on a killing spree at the school, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel disclosed Thursday.
Deputy Scott Peterson was armed and on campus as the violence unfolded, but he waited outside of the freshman building while 17 people were fatally shot in the rampage, Israel said at an evening news conference.
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Israel said he decided to suspend Peterson without pay Thursday morning after reviewing video and witness statements from the shooting, but the deputy chose to resign in lieu of accepting discipline.
"Devastated, sick to my stomach, there are no words," the sheriff said of the deputy's response to the bloodshed, adding that Peterson should have gone inside and confronted the killer.
The news comes a day after Israel said the actions, or lack thereof, of Peterson would be "scrutinized" in the wake of the shooting. It was previously reported that he never fired his gun.