FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Thursday marked Day 9 in the trial of former Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scot Peterson, who is accused of taking cover as the Parkland school shooter killed six people and injured four others on the third floor of the 1200 Building.
BSO Deputy Brian Goolsby, who is now a sergeant with the agency, responded to the shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, and, like Peterson, didn’t race into the 1200 Building, but did take a position of cover.
“When you saw Coach Feis, did you go rushing into the 1200 Building?” defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh asked.
“No, I did not,” Goolsby said.
“Did you think he was dead?” Eiglarsh asked.
“Yes,” Goolsby responded.
“Did you get on your radio and announce he was dead?” Eiglarsh asked.
“I did not,” Goolsby said.
“Did you think to do that?” Eiglarsh asked.
“I did not,” Goolsby said.
“And even when you see the bullet holes [in the third floor teacher’s lounge windows], you didn’t go in?” Eiglarsh asked.
“No,” Goolsby said. “I took the job of securing that area.”
“You are doing that from a position of cover?” Eiglarsh asked.
“Yes,” he responded.
“How come?” Eiglarsh asked.
“There is a lot of area in front of me that a shooter could be hiding,” Goolsby responded. “By having some cover, if he did start shooting, I can return fire.”
During cross-examination, the lead prosecutor highlighted differences in Goolsby’s response, such as that he did speak to students fleeing the building and did move from his arriving unit towards the general area from where he thought the shots were coming from.
“Is your training to move toward the sound of gunfire?” Assistant State Attorney Christopher Killoran asked.
“Yes,” he responded.
“You were proactively doing something -- you were not just standing there, correct?” Killoran asked.
“I believe I was, yes,” Goolsby said.
There was also impactful testimony from former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Dylan Redshaw as she recalled what she heard as the school shooting unfolded, the lingering trauma of that horrific day palpable.
“They sounded like ‘boom, boom, boom, boom, boom boom,’” she said through tears. “Boom boom.”
She was asked by Peterson’s defense attorney where she thought the sound was coming from.
“It sounded like it was under me, above me, all around me,” she said.
Former student Ruby Harris, who was in the 700 Building when the shooting occurred, also testified Thursday.
“I just heard loud, loud bangs, noises, loud boom,” she said.
Ruby’s sister, Peri Harris, also testified.
“Where did you think the sounds were coming from?” Eiglarsh asked her.
“I thought the soccer field or West Glades -- the middle school,” Peri Harris said.
“It could have been anywhere here,” Ruby Harris said during her testimony, pointing to the senior lot on a map.
“Did you think the sounds were coming from the 1200 building?” Eiglarsh asked.
“No,” she said.
The sisters said they heard loud noises during the shooting, but could not pinpoint from where they were coming. The defense has maintained that Peterson also didn’t know precisely where the shots were coming from.
“Did you know what those loud bangs were?” Eiglarsh asked Peri Harris.
“No, since I have never heard sounds like that before,” she said.
While the then-14-year-old didn’t know what gunfire sounded like, during the state’s case, the jury learned that Peterson had years of training, including in active shooter live scenario drills.
Peterson is accused of failing to investigate the shots and confront the shooter.
“This may sound like a silly question, but you were not trained as a police officer? You were not trained to know what gunfire sounded like, right?” Assistant State Attorney Kristen Gomes asked Peri Harris.
“No,” she responded.
“Did you ever see Scot Peterson that day?” Gomes asked.
“No,” Peri Harris said.
Peterson, 60, is not charged in connection with those killed or injured on the first floor of the building as he did not reach the building until the gunman reached the third floor. No injuries or deaths occurred on the second floor.
Peterson is charged with seven counts of felony child neglect for four underage students killed and three wounded on the third floor.
Peterson arrived at the building with his gun drawn 73 seconds before Cruz reached that floor, but instead of entering, he backed away as gunfire sounded. He has said he didn’t know where the shots were coming from.
Peterson is also charged with three counts of misdemeanor culpable negligence for the adults shot on the third floor, including a teacher and an adult student who died. He also faces a perjury charge for allegedly lying to investigators.
Peterson could be sentenced to nearly a century in prison if convicted on the child neglect counts and lose his $104,000 annual pension.