Attorney Files First Intent To Sue In Wake Of Deadly Shooting At Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
PARKLAND (CBSMiami) – The first steps toward legal action in response to the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are being taken.
This comes nearly three weeks after the Valentine's Day tragedy.
Many have been expecting legal action to result from this tragedy and now people are able to get their first look at it.
The attorney representing one of the students shot and severely wounded at Stoneman Douglas filed notices on Monday, informing three local government agencies of the victim's intent to sue them.
Before someone can sue a government agency, they must give notice six months ahead of time.
The notices are on behalf of Anthony Borges, a student who is believed to have saved the lives of more than a dozen of his fellow students despite being shot multiple times.
Borges' attorney sent notices to the Broward Sheriff's Office, the Broward School District and Broward County.
The notices say: "Mr. Borges was a victim of this rampage, having been shot five times, suffering life-threatening injuries and is currently hospitalized at Broward General Medical Center. Due to his condition, Mr. Borges is currently unable to walk and has a great deal of difficulty performing rudimentary tasks for himself, requiring assistance constantly."
"The failure of Broward County Public Schools, and of the Principal and School Resource Officer to adequately protect students, and in particular our client, from life-threatening harm were unreasonable, callous and negligent."
CBS4's Carey Codd spoke with the attorney who filed the notices, Alex Arreaza.
He told Codd that he also intends to sue the suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, over a large amount of money owed to Cruz from his mother's estate.
Arreaza said the reason he's filing now is because Borges is racking up costly medical bills and will need expensive long-term care that will be a burden on his working class family.
