Survivors and family members of the slain victims of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, had plans Wednesday to sue the school district, the sheriff’s office, a deputy and a school monitor, claiming their negligence allowed the massacre to happen.
Lawyers for the victims planned to file the lawsuits in state court in South Florida on Wednesday morning, after a news conference.
Nikolas Cruz is accused of fatally shooting 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day in 2018.
The 22 lawsuits brought by 26 people name as defendants the School Board of Broward County; the Broward Sheriff’s Office; former deputy Scott Peterson, who was a school resource officer; Andrew Medina, who was a school security monitor; and Henderson Behavioral Health Clinic, a mental health facility where Cruz was treated.
Cathleen Brennan, a school district spokeswoman, said the district doesn’t comment on pending or ongoing litigation. The sheriff’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cruz, 20, a former Stoneman Douglas student, remains jailed, charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder. He has offered to plead guilty if prosecutors take the death penalty off the table. Prosecutors have refused.
READ MORE: Year after Parkland school shooting massacre, 17 victims remembered
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Kelli Kennedy And Terry Spencer, The Associated Press
