A Parkland student, who has been hailed a hero after being severely wounded from shielding his classmates during the Florida high school shooting, has spoken out for the first time after the massacre that left 17 people dead.
Anthony Borges, 15, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, has been labeled “Iron Man” after he selflessly barricaded a classroom door shut with his body to protect the lives of 20 other students when Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire at the school on Feb. 14, this year, reported Fox News.
Borges was shot five times and suffered serious injuries to his lungs, abdomen, and legs. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday, April 4.
Two days after being released from the hospital, Borges participated in a news conference to express his concerns about the shooting. He sat quietly in his wheelchair, too weak to talk, as his attorney read out the teen’s statement on his behalf.
In the statement, the teen laid the blame for the massacre on Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel and Superintendent Robert Runcie. He also criticized an agreement between the sheriff’s office and the school district that allowed children who committed minor crimes to avoid arrest given that they attended and completed rehabilitation.
“I want to thank you for visiting me in the hospital. But I want to say that both of you failed us students and parents and teachers alike on so many levels,” the statement read.
“I want to ask you today to please end your policy and agreement that you will not arrest people committing crimes in our school.
“I want all of us to move forward and end the environment that allows people like Nikolas Cruz to fall through the cracks. You knew he was a problem years ago and you did nothing.”
Records show deputies received a number of calls about Cruz over the years, reported Fox News. He spent two years at a school for children with emotional and disciplinary problems before being allowed to transfer to Stoneman Douglas.
Cruz was forced to leave the Florida high school in 2017 after multiple incidents — he had abused his girlfriend and also fought with her new boyfriend.
Several weeks before the shooting, the FBI and the sheriff’s office had received calls saying that the 19-year-old was going to be a school shooter, however, nothing was done about it, according to the news station.
Borges, who is a rising soccer player, said he was honored to be called “Iron Man” but said he was not. He urged Broward County School District and Broward Sheriff’s Office to make a commitment to school safety for students and teachers.
“I know I’ve been called Iron Man and while I’m honored to be called this, I am not.
“I am a 15-year-old that was shot five times while Broward sheriffs deputies waited outside and decided that they weren’t going to come into the building,” the statement said.
“I ask you today to make a commitment to protect the students and teachers and provide a safe learning environment.”
Borges’ father, a maintenance worker, said he is thankful and appreciates that people are calling his son a hero but he said serious action needs to be taken to stop school shootings. He also blamed the sheriff’s office and school district for the shooting and said the family had filed a notice of intent to sue the school district, reported DML News.
“My son’s soccer career is over,” he said.
Borges, who emigrated from Venezuela three years ago, played soccer at Fort Lauderdale’s Barca Academy, a youth program operated by Futbol Club Barcelona in Spain.
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