Three assistant principals and security chief at school where Nikolas Cruz killed 17 are axed for failing to stop the rampage and GLUING shut toilet doors so pupils had nowhere to hide

Three administrators and a security chief has been 'reassigned' over failures
Commission said security procedures and special needs services were lacking
Assistant principals who oversaw school security measures removed from jobs
Nikolas Cruz was reported to one administrator for researching guns at school

Published: 06:25 EST, 27 November 2018 | Updated: 09:59 EST, 27 November 2018

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Three assistant principals and a security chief have been axed over failures to prevent the Parkland mass shooting which saw 17 people massacred.

The staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida are being reassigned over failings in the way the shooting was handled.

The Stoneman Douglas Commission cited a number of failures in school security procedure as well as missed opportunities to stop the killer, Nikolas Cruz, after he was seen searching guns on a school computer.

Toilet doors being glued shut and a lack of 'hard corners' meant students had fewer options to to safely hide as the gunman shot pupils and staff.

President Trump also intervened shortly after, calling sheriff's deputy, Scot Peterson, who was assigned as campus security, a coward for not going inside the building as the shooter roamed the school halls.

A number of failures by the school or district were raised by the commission, including communication breakdowns between police and school staff during the massacre on February 14.

Students being lead out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting at the school in February

Assistant Principals Winfred Porter Jr (left) and Jeff Morford (right) have been reassigned by the Broward County school district

Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz during an earlier court hearing. He is accused of killing 17 people during the massacre in Florida

These also included the school's 'Code Red' or active shooter procedures as well as bathroom doors being locked due to drug problems, which prevented students from being able to find a hiding place.

The school also had not enacted 'hard corners', or classroom corners where students could take cover during a shooting.

Assistant Principals Jeff Morford, Winfred Porter Jr, and Denise Reed, plus security specialist Kelvin Greenleaf have all been reassigned to other administrative positions in the county public school system, the district said in a statement.

The district would not say whether the moves were permanent or where they have been moved to.

Former Captain with the Broward County Sheriff's Department, Jan Jordan, and Parkland District Sargent, Brian Miller, were placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal review of his response to the shooting at the school, the department said.

Assistant Principal Denise Reed (left), who oversaw special needs students, was criticized in an independent report after the Parkland shooting (right)

Then-Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson, who was assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during February was accused of failing to go into the building during the shooting. He is pictured on the day of the massacre alongside security specialist Kelvin Greenleaf who has now been reassigned

The Stoneman Douglas Commission cited a number of failures in school security procedure as well as missed opportunities to stop the killer

The commission hearings also heard that a student reported Cruz's weird behavior, such as researching guns on a school computer and saying how he liked to 'see people in pain', to Morford.

According to the student, Morford told him he should Google the word 'autism' and promised that Cruz was being withdrawn from the school, but the assistant principal denied this conversation took place.

Porter, who was named the district's assistant principal of the year a few days before the shooting, oversaw some of the school's security measures and brought a consultant in to review security at the school but these were not put into action before the shooting.

Reed is the assistant principal who oversaw special needs students, which was also criticized by an independent report for Cruz's lack of counseling services in the 14 months leading up to the killings.

Lisa Maxwell, who represents the three administrators through the Broward Principals and Assistants Association, told the Sun Sentinel that the school district is violating its employee discipline policy by not telling them why they are being investigated and that the assistant principals did nothing wrong.

Members of the panel investigating the high school massacre called the sheriff's deputy Scot Peterson, who was assigned to guard the campus 'a coward' for hiding and not rushing inside in an attempt to stop the shooter.

Scot Peterson was branded 'a coward' by members of the Stoneman Douglas Commission for hiding and not rushing inside in an attempt to stop the shooter

President Trump called Peterson a coward soon after the massacre, saying, 'he trained his whole life. But he certainly did a poor job. There’s no question about that'

President Trump also intervened, calling Peterson a coward for not intervening, when he said, 'he trained his whole life. But he certainly did a poor job. There’s no question about that'.

Security video shows Peterson arrived outside the three-story building where the killings happened shortly after the shooting began, about the same time the gunman finished slaying 11 people on the first-floor.

Peterson drew his handgun, but retreated to cover next to the neighboring building.

The video shows Peterson never left that spot for 50 minutes, even after other deputies and police officers arrived on campus and went inside.

Panel members have said they believe Peterson's inaction allowed Cruz to climb to the third floor, where five students, including Jamie Guttenberg, and one teacher were killed.

Shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted. Cruz’s lawyers say he would plead guilty to murder and attempted murder charges in exchange for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that deal

They believe if Peterson, 55, had confronted Cruz, who authorities say was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, and engaged him in a shootout he could have killed him or given others more time to reach safety.

Peterson resigned soon after video emerged of him waiting outside the building during the shooting.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie was killed in the massacre after Cruz was allowed to climb to the third floor, called the move 'seven months overdue'.

He told the Sun Sentinel: 'We have been communicating all of this for almost nine months, as soon as we learned everything.

'It was only after they couldn't ignore the video that they took action. None of it brings our children back. None of it.

Today Cruz is facing a series of court hearings over procedural motions, which could see him face the death penalty if convicted.

Cruz’s lawyers previously said he would plead guilty to murder and attempted murder charges in exchange for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have rejected that deal.

No trial date has been set for Cruz, who is also charged with assaulting a corrections officer in the jail where he is being held without bail.