On Tuesday, Florida residents mourned the fifth anniversary of one of the worst tragedies to occur in the state in recent memory.
The effects of the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that claimed the lives of seventeen can still be felt in the community and across the state five years later.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reflected on what has been done since to prevent future incidents from occurring and plans to ensure Floridians get the justice they deserve.
DeSantis reminded Floridians of measures taken since the tragic shooting at Parkland to make schools safer and discussed future plans to ensure that perpetrators who carry out crimes as heinous as the one committed in Parkland are given proper justice.
Gov. DeSantis speaks on Parkland shooting. He said since he became governor his administration has spent a billion dollars to "bolster school security." pic.twitter.com/xn7iOtmjVt
— WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) February 14, 2023
DeSantis began by striking a solemn tone regarding the tragedy at Parkland five years ago, saying it was ‘one of the worst days this state’s ever had.’
“Five years ago was one of the worst days this state’s ever had, and I was not governor yet at the time, but it was something that I think not only reverberated in every corner of our state but really across the country,” the Governor told reporters at a news conference in Jacksonville.
On Tuesday morning, the Governor asked Floridians to take a moment of silence at 10:17 AM to mourn the seventeen students who died in the tragic shooting.
Today, I ask all Floridians to pause for a moment of silence at 10:17am to honor the 17 innocent lives lost at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre.
We will continue to honor their memory in word and in deed and extend our sympathies to the Parkland community.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 14, 2023
DeSantis has taken various steps to prevent an incident like the Parkland shooting from ever occurring again and has held school board members accountable who did not take sufficient steps to ensure that students in the school district were safe.
“I can tell you, if you’ve looked since I’ve been governor what we’ve done — we’ve done over $1 billion to bolster school security, we’ve worked hard to bring accountability to folks who maybe could have done something to prevent this guy from being in this position — whether it was removing the sheriff from the county, whether it was having the school security grand jury, which has led to the removal of some of the school board members, you’ve seen the superintendent replaced. And so, I took it very seriously to say, you know, if there is never accountability then these things are more likely to happen again,” the Governor said.
In August of 2022, DeSantis suspended multiple Broward school board members after a grand jury investigating the incident recommended it. He received some criticism from Democrats in the state.
The usual suspects are jumping up and down to call Governor DeSantis a "dictator" because he suspended 4 Broward school board members last week.
The facts: DeSantis followed a grand jury recommendation to keep students safe.pic.twitter.com/93d7M9JSqx
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 28, 2022
DeSantis said that Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the Parkland Shooting, only getting prison time and not getting the death penalty was a sore spot for him and many members of the state, but promised reform that would make it easier for people who carry out heinous crimes to receive the death penalty.
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“We’re going to reform the capital sentencing procedure in Florida,” he said. “You kill 17 people – what other penalty can you get other than the ultimate penalty? And yet, you have one holdout that can nullify that.”
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