Ryan Petty, right, the father of a Parkland shooting victim Alaina Petty, became an honorary armed school guardian Thursday in Polk County. (Fox 13 Tampa)
The father of a Parkland shooting victim has graduated from a program that qualifies staffers and teachers to carry guns in Florida schools.
Ryan Petty underwent hours of firearm training to qualify as an honorary armed school guardian in Polk County, according to reports.
Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County in 2018, was sworn in Thursday.
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Alaina Petty, was 14 when she was killed in the Parkland school shooting. (Fox 13 Tampa)
"There is nothing I can do to bring my daughter back, but I know she would want me to make sure that this doesn’t happen to any other child," said Petty, according to WFTS-TV.
Petty, who is not a teacher or a school staffer, said he plans to serve as an advocate for the program
The law was expanded this year to permit teachers to participate in the guardian program.
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Not every school district in the state has opted in to the expanded program. Broward and Miami-Dade, two of the biggest school districts in the state, have opted not to allow teachers to become guardians.
The armed guardian program was created after the Parkland shooting in which 17 students and staffers were killed.
Petty was sworn in by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
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"Teachers are running into the face of danger with erasers and chalk," said Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, according to FOX13 Tampa. "We want to say, 'Put your erasers and chalk down. Here's a gun.'"
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