A father’s journey after losing his son in the Parkland shooting, advocating for school safety nationwide.
In 2018, a former student, Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 people. He shot many with a gun at the high school. Cruz pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. He received a life sentence for each count. The jury did not recommend the death penalty, though. Fourteen students and three staff died. The pain remains for those affected.
Max Schachter lost his 14-year-old son, Alex. This horrible news changed Max’s life completely. His first wife died when Alex was four. He remarried, moved, and faced even more tragedy. Now, he fights for tougher gun laws and wants to protect students everywhere. He believes Florida now leads the way in safety.
Max is on the Parkland Shooting Commission now. Governor DeSantis created it after the shooting. They investigated and made safety suggestions. Florida is a leader in school safety. Each year since the shooting, they passed a safety law.
Schools must follow the law or face consequences.
The tragedy impacted Florida’s leaders greatly. Therefore, they passed a major safety bill. It’s called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
Since 2018, school shooting stats are alarming. Education Week reports 221 shootings by December 2024. Thirty-nine shootings happened in 2024 alone. Over two-thirds were outdoors, which makes security response harder. Last year had at least one shooting a month.
Max worries about other states. He thinks another tragedy is coming. He says people show concerning behavior beforehand. Teaching people to spot this behavior will help.
Threat-assessment teams can prevent or limit damage then.
The building where it happened was torn down. Max showed governors the classrooms, though. This showed what happened and how to prevent it. Seeing Alex’s blood was painful. Max wanted to keep the building to educate others. Utah officials toured it before a safety program.
Max’s group, Safe Schools for Alex, helps communities nationwide. He wants to keep Alex’s memory alive. He wants to prevent similar tragedies. The lessons from Parkland can save lives and they keep him going every day despite the pain.