'A coward, not a hero': Students slam Florida school massacre teacher
A teacher labelled a hero after the Florida school massacre last month has now been called a coward by students who say he failed to protect them.
Florida media hailed maths teacher Jim Gard as a hero for protecting students as a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland killing 17 people, including children, on February 14.
But Joshua Gallagher, a student at the school who is in Mr Gard's class, has taken to Twitter and said his teacher is a coward – accusing him of locking students out of the classroom.
The teen wrote that he was in Mr Gard's class when the fire alarm went off but as he and his classmates filed out of the classroom, opposite the freshman building where the shooting took place, and towards the staircase they heard gunshots ring out.
"In an almost instant rush me and my fellow classmates as well as others rushed back to our classroom," Joshua wrote.
"As we made it to the door we found out the door was locked, which then left me and 15 other students left in the hallways ducking as the screams of classmates and gunshots took over the noise around me."
The teen wrote that he was in the hallway with fellow students for four minutes before a teacher let him and 14 others into another classroom. He added it took a few days for him to realise that his maths teacher ran back into the classroom "without turning around and locked the door".
He's accused Mr Gard of locking "75 per cent" of his class "out in the hallway to be slaughtered" and that while the shooting was happening the teacher was on his phone speaking to a news station instead of helping others.
"Jim Gard has been on many news stations - he is an opportunist and people shouldn't value him as close to a hero," Joshua wrote.
"He is a coward."
Joshua added that by "calling himself a hero", Mr Gard has "re-victimised" the students he left out in the hallway.
Connor Dietrech responded to Joshua adding his contempt for Mr Gard. He wrote that he was one of the students in the hallway.
"The person I had to rely on left us to die and that's not okay," he tweeted.
But Mr Gard told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel he was following procedure to keep doors locked during a shooting and said six students were in the room with him.
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The teacher added that he looked back and no one was around. He had "no choice" but to close the door and lock it.
Mr Gard heard banging on the door but was prohibited from opening it. When he walked over to check, no one was there.
The maths teacher also told Inside Edition he yelled for students to get back into the classroom but only six returned straight away. The others couldn't be seen.
Security expert Steve Kardian said the maths teacher was right in not opening the door.
"Once it's closed, once you're sheltered, you don't go near the door. You don't open the door," he said.
"It's a hard decision for a teacher to make, to not open that door, but the rule is, shut the door, leave it shut until the authorities come and you open it."
