The father of a Parkland school shooting victim ripped administrators Tuesday for using a technicality to try to dodge any responsibility over the brutal beating of a student in a nearby parking lot.
The unidentified male victim suffered a skull fracture when he was punched, kicked and dropped on his head in the parking lot across the street from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last week.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was one of 17 victims gunned down at the school by mass killer Nikolas Cruz in 2018, is among a group of parents saying administrators are avoiding accountability over the beat-down.
The protesting parents say school officials have attempted to absolve themselves of responsibility for the shocking assault, which has led to five arrests thus far, by saying it was technically off school property.
In an email to parents, the school said, “The park is not a school or district-operated property; however, the school is working with law enforcement to help identify those involved.”
A student was beaten unconscious outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas HIgh School.
Guttenberg told The Post on Tuesday that while “the parking lot is technically out of the campus perimeter … this school has all of the students who drive park their cars in that lot across the street. That’s where the students walk to and from every single day.”
Guttenberg, who has emerged as a vocal and influential voice for gun reform after the Parkland massacre, said students should enjoy a sense of security not only in school but around it.
“For years since the shooting I have referenced that true school security involves what happens outside that perimeter,” he said. “And I have specifically talked about that parking lot.”
Schools across the nation often seek to distance themselves from unwelcome incidents if they occur near campus but outside their property lines.
Five teens were arrested this week in connection with the case. Local 10The defense is frequently invoked in cyber-bullying cases, frustrating parents who argue that their complaints of abuse are ignored if the incidents don’t take place directly on campus.
“It’s not a good look,” a Broward County school source said of Parkland’s stance. “These students from the school, they are right outside school. They’re not fooling anyone, and trying to weasel out of responsibility is only going to make matters worse.”
Last week’s assault led to felony battery charges against five teens, identified by police as Sylvester Hicks, 16, Jahmeer Beauziel, 17, Caleb Hensley, 17, Jordan Thompson, 16, and Chinua Leefatt, 15.
Four of them attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas, while a fifth attended Coral Glades High School.
Police are still searching for a sixth suspect.
School principal Michelle Kefford said she will move to expel the Stoneman students involved in the assault.
Fred Guttenberg, who lost his teenage daughter in the 2018 massacre at the school, blasted Marjory Stoneman Douglas officials for distancing themselves from the incident. APLeefatt’s father, Barrington Leefatt, told local outlets that his son was attacked first and is the actual victim in the case.
The Parkland campus has become saddled with the legacy of the 2018 mass slayings, with staffers telling The Post that violent incidents are inevitably magnified because of its history.
“There are fights all over this district,” the staffer said. “But we’re Parkland, it comes with the territory now.”
Cruz was sentenced to 17 life terms last year for the Valentine’s Day massacre.
The victim of the parking-lot assault suffered a skull fracture.
The former Stoneman student marched into the school with an AR-15 assault rifle and began spraying defenseless victims with bullets.
All told, 14 students and three employees lost their lives.
