Law enforcement's utter failure to prevent or minimize the slaughter of 17 innocents at Stoneman Douglas High School is now on the record.  Not only were repeated warnings to the FBI and local law enforcement ignored, but "several" (CNN says four) Broward County sheriff's deputies on the scene did not enter the school and take out the shooter, according to this report from the local newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel.

Instead of rushing in, several Broward sheriff's deputies waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School while a killer gunned down schoolchildren, according to other officers on the scene.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating the claims from Coral Springs cops, Sheriff Scott Israel told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday.

The allegations emerged a day after another deputy, assigned to guard the school, resigned under fire, also for failing to enter the building during the shooting.

In all, at least three deputies waited outside, including School Resource Officer Scot Peterson, police sources told the Sun Sentinel.

The lesson could not be clearer: the old adage that "when seconds count, the police are minutes away" has been proven true with the lives of children.  The deputies were on scene but delayed entering the school until 17 lives had been lost and the perp had walked away, thanks to incredible bungling of the video surveillance system resulting in a 20-minute delay for officers seeking to locate the perp.

The need for people already in the school to be armed could not be clearer.  And yesterday, President Trump told his supporters at CPAC:

The teachers and the coaches and other people in the building – the dean, the assistant dean, the principal – they can – they love their people.  They want to protect these kids.  And I think we're better with that.  This may be 10 percent or 20 percent of the population of teachers, etc.  It's not all of them.  But you would have a lot.  And you would tell people that they are inside.  And the beauty is, it's concealed.  Nobody would ever see it unless they needed it.  It's concealed.  So this crazy man who walked in wouldn't even know who it is that has it.  That's good.  That's not bad; that's good.  And a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened.

This should not be a partisan issue.  The chief of police of Detroit, a city that overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton, agrees with the president.  James E. Craig told WWJ radio:

"Certainly, there should be a very thorough vetting process," Craig said in an interview with WWJ's Greg Bowman.  "When I talk about vetting, I mean someone who is trained, someone who is responsible, the rigors associated with someone in a school environment.  It could be an ex-military, ex-police officer; some of those folks are teachers, as an example."

Craig likened the vetting process to that of airlines following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in that some pilots – not all – are allowed to carry weapons after a vetting process.

"I think you can look at it through the same lens," Craig said.  "It's sad that we have to have conversations about mass shootings in schools or in churches, but unfortunately that's the world we live in, so I've been very vocal about this whole issue."

Arming teachers could help reduce response time during school shootings, Craig said.

Keep in mind that the perp had at least four minutes to continue his slaughter while deputies remained outside, listening to the rifle shots ringing out as students were gunned down.  A few motivated and skilled teachers could have saved many lives.