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Florida panel recommends arming some teachers

Posted at 6:51 PM, Dec 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-12 18:51:00-05

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The panel investigating the Florida high school massacre is recommending that teachers who volunteer and undergo extensive background checks and training be allowed to carry concealed guns on campus to stop future shootings.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission voted 13-1 Wednesday to recommend the Legislature allow the arming of those teachers, saying it's not enough to have one or two police officers or armed guards on campus.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the commission's chairman, pushed the measure, saying that most deaths in school shootings happen within the first few minutes, before officers responded.

Seventeen people died in the Feb. 14 attack. Suspect Nikolas Cruz stopped five times to reload.