Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN on Sunday that he would not resign in the wake of a shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead.
"Of course I won't resign," Israel said when asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper in a lengthy interview on "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Israel and his department have been criticized for their response to the shooting after it was revealed that an armed school resource officer did not enter the school while shots rang out. Israel vowed to investigate any other allegations of inaction by deputies.
"I was disgusted. I was just demoralized with the performance of former deputy (Scot) Peterson," Israel told Jake Tapper.
CNN reported on Saturday that when police officers from Coral Springs arrived at the site of the shooting, they were upset to see three other Broward County Sheriff's deputies that had not entered the school.
"Our investigation to this point shows that during this horrific attack, while this killer was inside the school, there was only one law enforcement person, period," Israel said. "And that was former deputy Scot Peterson. Coral Springs arrived - a group of Coral Springs officers went in within, I think, about four minutes, we're projecting, after the killer left the campus."
Republican lawmakers in Florida sent Gov. Rick Scott a letter urging him to suspend Israel "for incompetence and dereliction of duty."
Officials were repeatedly warned about the alleged shooter before the attack, including one caller who said Cruz was a "school shooter in the making." In total, 18 calls were made to the Sheriff's office about Cruz.