Parkland victim Anthony Borges plans lawsuit, claims high school and security guard failed to protect students

Anthony Borges was shot five times.

March 6, 2018, 8:29 PM

A victim hailed as a hero during the Valentine's Day shooting massacre allegedly committed by a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is planning to sue the Florida school district.

Anthony Borges was shot five times -- both in the gut and legs -- while attempting to shield other pupils by locking a classroom door when he was struck by bullets allegedly fired by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.

Now, a lawyer for the 15-year-old survivor has alerted Broward County officials that it will file a "notice of intent to file a claim" against the school district for alleged lapses in preventing the school shooting and protecting the students from harm.

A total of 17 students and teachers died and more than a dozen were injured, some critically, after Cruz allegedly armed with an AR-15-style rifle unleashed the attack on Feb. 14.

Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and is being held in the Broward County Jail without bond.

"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," lawyer Alex Arreaza wrote in a letter dated on Monday.

A Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman refused to comment citing, "potential, pending, or open litigation."

PHOTO: Sheriff Israel of Broward Sheriff's Office visits Anthony Borges, 15, in hospital on Feb. 18, 2018.
Sheriff Israel of Broward Sheriff's Office visits Anthony Borges, 15, in hospital on Feb. 18, 2018.

The letter noted that Borges, a Boy Scout and soccer player, suffered "life-threatening injuries" and that he has been unable to be released from Broward General Medical Center.

"Due to his condition," the letter states, Borges "is currently unable to walk and has a great deal of difficulty performing rudimentary tasks for himself, requiring assistance constantly."

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie announced the launch of a "comprehensive review of the educational journey" of the accused mass shooter who he claimed was "charged with this horrific act of violence."

Runcie expressed why there is a pressing need to do this now.

"A quest for such understanding must be done with both transparency and a sense of urgency," he wrote in a release.

Runcie stated that the review, which is going cost around $60,000 and will seek to evaluate the school's "policies and procedures in place" at the time of the mass shooting will begin "no later than March 6" and that a final repor be completed by six to eight weeks to offer both "findings and recommendations."

"While we cannot undo this heartbreaking attack on our school community on Feb. 14," he wrote, "we can and must do what we can do to understand the conditions that lead to such acts, in hopes of avoiding them here and elsewhere."