(NBC News) Scot Peterson, the campus officer who stayed outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as 17 people were gunned down inside, is speaking publicly for the first time since the massacre.
"I’m never going to get over this, you know. Those were my kids," Peterson in an exclusive "Today" interview.
As the shots rang out inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, surveillance video shows Peterson calmly stationed outside.
Peterson said he thought the shots were coming from a sniper outside the building.
"I never believed there was an active shooter inside," he said.
Parents of the victims are speaking out as well, calling Peterson’s answers "excuses."
"I want to make sure when this guy refers to the kids as ‘his kids’ that is not true. Those are our kids and they are always going to be our kids," said Manuel Oliver, father of victim Joaquin Oliver.
Peterson resigned and retired after public criticism a week after the deadly massacre and is now being sued by a parent of a student killed during the Parkland shooting.
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