Some Future Day

Marc Beckman: [00:01:00] Max, welcome to some future day. It's really an honor. Um, I appreciate your time and, and your story and your message. How are you doing today?
Max Schachter: Um, I'm [00:02:00] hanging in there. Uh, yesterday I got a call from a legislator in Virginia who was trying to pass a, a school safety bill. And he said, uh, I need you. We're up, we're up in, you know, in five minutes. And so I jumped on a zoom and testified in the Virginia legislature about this school safety bill and it passed out of committee and And then I just got a text saying it's going in front of the Appropriations Committee and I need you again, Max.
So, this is my life and my mission is to keep my little boy's memory alive and do everything I can to make schools safer.
Marc Beckman: So I want to, um, get into the, um, role that you're playing with the public sector. But since you, you raised Alex, I, I prefer to start with him. Um, I think it's important to talk about [00:03:00] Alex a little bit given the fact that this entire episode and and a lot of your work all of your work really now is, um, you know, because of Alex because he was murdered.
Um, but, you know, it gets lost a little bit in the commentary when you hear about the Parkland. shootings and, you know, the victims, they lose their, um, uh, their person at a massive scale. I know not that doesn't apply to you and your family and friends and loved ones, but I'd like to just back up a little bit and hear about, you know, in your words, like who was Alex?
Max Schachter: No, thank you, Marc. That's the most important thing to me in my life is, is my little boy and remembering all the wonderful times that we had together. Alex, in any picture you look at, he's always smiling and he's, he's He's, he's got these cute little dimples, but Alex, uh, had had a lot of tragedy in his life when Alex was just [00:04:00] four, uh, his, his mother, my wife, uh, Debbie passed away in her sleep.
And I thought that that was the worst time of my life. I was a single now, now a widower had two little boys I had to raise on my own, all by myself. And then several years later I met, I met this, this wonderful woman whose husband died of a heart attack. She lived in, in Port, Port Washington, New York, and she had two little girls named Morgan and Avery and Friends of friends knew knew both of our stories and we obviously had this this shared grief and so I met you know, just to try to help her and fell in love with her and then We had to make a decision do we take the girls and move to Florida or do I take the boys and moved to New York and I knew I couldn't handle the cold weather, so, um, we thought we'd have a good life in Florida.
We thought that the schools were safer in Parkland. That's why I moved to Parkland. And then, ten years later, I sent Alex to high school, and [00:05:00] he's murdered in the deadliest high school shooting in U. S. history. So,
Marc Beckman: So, um, I know he, it sounds from, you know, just doing a little research on my side, it sounds like he, uh, had a very eclectic range. Of interests, I, I, I noticed from, um, just your website. That he was a big, uh, sports fan, big New England, in particular, a sports fan, which as a New Yorker, of course, I, I would not tolerate that if I was lucky enough to meet Alex.
Um, but other things too, I, I, I, I really caught my attention, the fact that he was a musician and, and I think that you had mentioned that his grandfather also played the trombone. Um, what, what was he like just as a regular kid? Like, what, what was his personality like?
Max Schachter: he was, he was just a sweetheart, even, even as a teenager, he was just, uh, just a lover and he used to give me the best hugs and, um, [00:06:00] and, but he was a great athlete as well. Alex played in multiple, uh, Parkland rec basketball championships that he won. And Alex is, as you mentioned, Alex's grandfather played the trombone.
And then when it came time to, I said, Alex, you got to do something, you got to do band. Or you got to do sports and, um, and then, you know, he said, okay, I'll, I'll take band and in middle school, he, he gravitated and he, he, he tried out and he did the best on the trombone just like his grandfather did. And so in middle school, he, he doubled up, he took two different instrument classes and then in preparation for high school, he knew that he wanted to be in the marching band and Marjory Stoneman Douglas had a good marching band, but it wasn't great.
And then when he went to high school. His freshman year, uh, just, just two months before the shooting, they won the state title and Alex was there. That was one of my happiest memories is being on the field when they, uh, when they won the state title. So, uh, and then Alex, Alex loved Nutella crepes. Uh, he [00:07:00] loved, I mean, he's my kid.
I was born in the seventies. And so he loved, uh, the band Chicago. Uh, his favorite song was 25 or six to four. So,
Marc Beckman: Oh, oh boy.
Max Schachter: yeah. He
Marc Beckman: You're saying he was a real lover, huh? He was a compassionate, kind human.
Max Schachter: a sweetheart. My little sweet boy.
Marc Beckman: What do you think he would have turned out to be like if he was, you know, if he had the chance to live, um, you know, what do you think his life would have been like?
Max Schachter: You know, it's, it's so hard. You know, they, I, I have, I have three others now and they make different moves and different changes, you know, maybe business. Uh, you know, I, I had a small insurance company beforehand and so, or maybe a lawyer, you know, so.
Marc Beckman: And his, um, siblings. It's an interesting situation. I'm sure you have been compared to the Brady Bunch. I'm showing my age a little bit, but, um, his older brother, Ryan, I've heard a lot of kind things. You and I met, full disclosure. We met [00:08:00] through a mutual colleague and, and he's told me a lot about what an exceptional person Ryan is, Alex's older
Max Schachter: Yeah, he loved, he loved his older brother. They used to always play basketball in the driveway and Alex's older sister, you know, he bonded with her over anime and Alex's little sister he adored as well. She would always want to comb his hair just to, just to be next to him and, um, I know they miss him a lot and, and his mother as well.
Marc Beckman: So I know, I know when we opened the conversation, you mentioned, um, how Virginia is top of mind right now and, and, you know, through the years, all of a sudden, you've built, um, this mission up with a, uh, significant role within the public sector, working with presidents, working with senators, Congress, people, and, and beyond, and, and beyond.
Uh, really impressive. But I'm curious. Have you [00:09:00] seen any innovation in the private sector, for example, technology that can improve school safety? do you think that Uh, there's something out there that you would like to talk to today that isn't getting enough attention yet in the private sector as it relates to maybe there's a new technology or something with funding that would really help, um, preserve the concept of, of school safety on a, on a national level here in America.
Max Schachter: I can't put my finger on one specific technology because when you talk about school safety, uh, it's a multidisciplinary approach. And so there's so many different, uh, people and stakeholders that are involved, like the school, school district can't do it on their own. Law enforcement can't fix the issue.
It, it really needs to be a collaboration because. Uh, a [00:10:00] lot of these individuals who go on to be school shooters, they all exhibit concerning behavior ahead of time. And so, uh, the best tool we have is, is threat assessments and, and threat management. All these individuals, they don't just snap overnight.
They all exhibit leakage and concerning behavior over time. And it's really, uh, it's a people issue. It's a training issue. It's making sure that people are vigilant and, and not complacent and prioritize this issue above all else. Because the most important thing is that the kids and the staff make it home to their families every day.
If they don't, nothing else matters. So, I wouldn't say that it's a technology thing. It's a people thing. It's a mindset. It's a culture issue. And prior to Parkland, we knew, or we found out afterwards, that there was a negative culture [00:11:00] on this campus. And the principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas didn't take safety and security seriously.
When we interviewed him, and we asked him if there was a threat to shoot up your school, did you expect to know about it? He said, no, not really. That wasn't my job. I, you know, my assistant principal was in charge of safety. And that's, that's a crazy thing to say. You know, it's, it's the leadership on, on campus and the leaders of, of, of the, of Florida that have made this, this huge shift after Parkland to prioritize this issue above all else.
Yeah,
Marc Beckman: Surrounding Alex's murder. It seems like obviously it takes a village, right? Starting at the home with the parents, but all the way through. But what I understand is that Alex's murderer. exhibited, um, violent acts starting as young as three years old. He went [00:12:00] through years of therapy, medicine, and then eventually his own mother purchased a gun for him at 18 years old.
So, and I know there are other. But there's other facts too, as you expand beyond. So there was, there was social media postings, there were complaints about his propensity to act in a violent way that I believe the FBI actually received. So at what level does society need to see that the writing is on the wall and they need to act?
Like, how could you take this person who from three years old has a history of being violent and just ignore it all? If it's a people issue, then we really have a bigger issue than just the obvious, right?
Max Schachter: there was a culture of leniency in Broward County Public Schools, uh, where they prioritize the rights of the Parkland murderer over the rights of all the other kids in his [00:13:00] classes and there was no consequences. And so we're all in favor of giving kids a second chance. But not 55 of them or, um, I mean, he, he accumulated over 55 different disciplinary incidents in just middle school alone.
And so, uh, at some point we need to intro, you know, introduce consequences for individuals so that, uh, you know, we can get them off their pathway to violence and, and people need to act. You know, there were all of these tips like, like you talked about and, and nobody did anything. And that's, that's what's so upsetting.
Marc Beckman: So is it the government policy that sets the standard for, for school safety and then everybody comes around? No,
Max Schachter: No, no, it's, uh, unfortunately, and I believe it should be, I believe that there should be safety standards, uh, that, that every school has to meet. But unfortunately, up to this point, [00:14:00] uh, the feds have just deferred to the school districts and said, it's your job and you figure it out. So, but at some point, if the schools are going to fail to protect our kids.
I think, uh, the federal government should and has an obligation to step in.
Marc Beckman: So you must have changed your perspective regarding school safety in several ways since the incident, since, since your son was murdered. What are some, some ideas that maybe you held prior to the death of Alex that have changed significantly surrounding school safety?
Max Schachter: I mean, prior, you know, I wasn't, this really wasn't on my radar. I, I wasn't really impacted by, by gun violence and, and I wasn't a victim of it. And, uh, I thought that Alex, you know, went to school in a safe environment. I didn't realize that, that he went to school with, with a violent, violent individual.
And that's the [00:15:00] reason why we created, that's why my wife and I created our charity called Safe Schools for Alex, where our, our number, our most important initiative right now is creating um, school safety dashboards. So after the shooting, I found out that every school in the state of Florida was required to report incidents of violence and drugs to the State Department of Education.
And I have three other children and I wanted to make sure that nothing happened to them. And so, after the shooting, I went to go look up their schools to see what was happening in their schools. Uh, because I never got the call from their principal saying, Great news parents, uh, this year, I just wanted to let you know, this quarter, our bullying numbers dropped by 20 percent.
Or, our, our fighting numbers, or the amount of weapons that were coming into the school. I never got that call, Marc, because that call doesn't exist. Because this data was basically in the Department of Education buried in, [00:16:00] in, you know, deep in, in the website and that information was not transparent and not out to, for, for parents to really see.
And so that's why we created this school safety dashboard because every parent has a right and they want to know what's happening after they dropped their kids off at school and transparency is good. And if you. You can't manage what you don't measure. And so that's why we've created 11 school safety dashboards across the country our goal is to do it all over the country and and every state because this is what make schools safer.
You have to know what's happening inside the school, and it helps. It helps schools. It helps. Law enforcement helps legislators so that they know what's happening in the schools, and they can search resources to schools that need it most and help kids that need it most.
Marc Beckman: So the dashboard is accessible to everyone. You don't have to pay a fee. If I'm [00:17:00] moving to Florida from New York City, I could look up a school in a particular county that I want to attend and I have access to all of this data and it would help me decide whether or not I feel like I'm sending my children to a wholesome and safe environment, a safe place every single day.
Max Schachter: Yeah, it's it's all it's free to everyone and I encourage everyone, please check it out. It's school safety dashboard dot org. We're in 11 states right now. Our goal is the entire country. So any support, uh, you know, your, your, your listeners can, can give us would be greatly appreciated.
Marc Beckman: Max, do you think that the concept of school safety in America is viable? I know, like, last night when you and I were talking, you were like, Oh, we just had some more school shootings and, you know, they're top of mind. Um, is it, is it really a, a viable idea here in America that we won't see these school shootings?
Max Schachter: You know, that's like, I think you could [00:18:00] probably akin that, that, that question to, can we stop mass shootings? Can, can we stop violence in America? The answer as you probably agree with me is probably no, but we can limit them. We can mitigate the number of injuries and fatalities when they happen by implementing the best practices that Florida has implemented already.
So, the number one best practice that, that Florida's really strived to excel in is threat management and, and threat assessments. We have a threat assessment team in every school and every district. We have a see something, say something app. That's what I was just testifying in Virginia on a school safety bill there.
Uh, all these kids that are in school, they know who's thinking of, uh, who's struggling, who's depressed, who's being bullied, who's thinking about hurting themselves or potentially hurting others. They know. So they've got to have a means to communicate that with the school and law enforcement. So every [00:19:00] school, every state needs a see something, say something app.
Uh, every school needs a panic button. Uh, so that when an emergency happens. Uh, you know, we know where it's happening and, and we want to make sure that law enforcement knows, you know, and the cavalry can come because if you don't, if you're with a school district that doesn't have an armed individual and there's, there's someone on campus intent on killing your son or daughter, you basically have to wait until, you know, an armed individual shows up.
And. And the most important thing is to stop the killing so that you can stop the dying. So in answer to your question, are we going to stop violence in America? Are we going to stop mass shootings? The answer is no, but there are definitely things that we can do that we know will, will prevent acts of targeted violence.
Uh, we, we prevent mass shootings [00:20:00] every day with the FBI tip line and see something, say something apps. Um, and, and we've seen in, in several of the, the latest shootings, the one in Uvalde where the individual walked through, uh, an unlocked door to get into the school and then walked into the unlocked classroom.
So it's about being, uh, vigilant. It's about prioritizing this issue above all else, uh, that, that, and it's about leadership. Um. And so, you know, we've done a lot in Florida to make sure that the data is correct, make sure that the schools are reporting accurately. But all that stems from the prioritization of this issue of school safety.
Kids and parents, they want a kid to send their kid to school and make sure they come home every day.
Marc Beckman: You know, it's funny because a lot of what you're talking about is common sense. It seems that emerging technology or simple [00:21:00] technologies can help solve a lot of the problems. You've told me now a few times that Florida really is ahead of the curve nationwide. Um, which other states are close and what are the roadblocks to implementing these common sense initiatives to preserve school safety?
Max Schachter: Well, obviously, you know, funding is a big issue. And, um, you know, Texas is making strides. Virginia is, is one of the leaders in this, uh, in this space and their, Utah is, is coming along there. They just passed a massive school safety bill. Colorado has had a lot of terrible mass shootings and so Colorado has a great school safety center there.
So there are other states, but. Uh, it's, it's kind of, you know, all over the board, uh, there are states what makes Florida different is that we've passed seven school safety bills after Parkland and it's all in law. And so these aren't suggestions that at other states are just. We're suggesting you [00:22:00] do this or we're recommending this.
We learned in Florida that it's not good enough just to have policies and procedures. You've got to have accountability in place to make sure that the school districts and school officials are, are implementing best practices and doing the right thing. So it's policies and procedures and it's accountability, uh, to make sure it gets done.
In Florida, we, the commissioner of education. Has the authority to withhold the superintendent's salary if we find out that school districts are not reporting accurately and not, um, not abiding by the law.
Marc Beckman: That's phenomenal. So when you talk about funding, is that a Uh, both federal and state level issue or where does the funding come from?
Max Schachter: Yeah, so in Florida. Again, we prioritize this issue, you know, Governor DeSantis has, has allocated over a billion dollars to, to school safety, uh, since Parkland, 200 million a year in school safety. And then there's, there's hundreds [00:23:00] of millions in mental health funding. So he's prioritized this issue, but yeah, there's lots of things that are, that are no cost, low cost.
So for instance, in Parkland. Nobody died on the second floor because some of the teachers covered the windows with a piece of construction paper. And so, um, the murderer was in the hallway looking into the classroom. He didn't think anybody was there. So there's things that can be done that are just low cost, no cost, just Locking, locking the door, um, locking the gate.
So, the Parkland murderer walked through an unlocked, unstaffed gate. That doesn't happen anymore. So, it's doing the little things. It's having the culture on campus that, that this is important. And, you know, there is some technology that's, that's important. We've got panic buttons. Uh, there is, you know, gunshot detection technology out there.
Uh, they're using, they're using AI with, with [00:24:00] cameras, uh, so that if you're, you're able to look at cameras and if, if there's cameras now, uh, can detect, you know, movement, they can detect, uh, lots of still bodies. People are in the, the stairwells, uh, when they shouldn't be. And, and they can detect fights, uh, so there's a lot of technology that, that has to be interplayed in to making schools safer, but there's not just one panacea, it's, it has to be, it's a holistic approach with a lot of different stakeholders involved and the culture and leadership to make sure that everyone understands that this is the most important thing, uh, on campus.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, it's, you know, you, you keep talking about culture and leadership, or at least you're implying that. And it seems like in this particular incident, the culture and the leadership was really just devoid, like just a total. I don't even think it was a breakdown. I think it was worse. Like you had told me about and everybody knows about the [00:25:00] deputy at the school who was armed and rather than going in and running and using his weapon to support and hopefully save certain individuals from the murderer.
He actually, you called him the coward of Broward. He hid while everything unfolded. I mean, that's just
Max Schachter: Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, it makes me so angry when I, when I watched the video of him going to the front of the building. He was, he was seven feet away from the entrance to, uh, to the 1200 building, which is the building that was attacked that day. And if he would have just gone and looked in the window, he would have seen carnage and, and dead bodies on the floor in the hallway.
Um, he didn't, he got scared and went and hid between concrete buildings seven and eight for the next 48 minutes, even after other officers ran in after 11 minutes, he, he still remained in his safe, uh, same spot [00:26:00] and that goes back to training. So on so many different levels, training, uh, there was a failure.
So Broward Sheriff's office was not properly trained to identify, um, social, the social media threats. Um, the teachers were not, did not receive proper active shooter training and the kids didn't know what to do during when the shooting was happening. And then the officer, the, the coward, uh, school resource deputy, he only received active shooter training every three years for just four hours.
And that's not enough, uh, for us to, to train our minds and, and have our bodies react. Uh, to stressful situations, we've got to do things over and over again in practice. And prior to Parkland, they put deputies in schools that were kind of at the end of their career, were only several years away from retirement and, [00:27:00] and now they don't do that anymore.
Now we understand how important this issue is, but it shouldn't have taken Parkland. 17 people should have not had to die and another 17 injured for, for people to take this seriously and prioritize this issue. And so that's why I travel around the country and I, I present on Parkland on school safety so that hopefully people are going to be proactive in, in other communities and not reactive.
Marc Beckman: The deputy's name, um, I believe is Scot Peterson, who, who failed to act, correct?
Max Schachter: Yes.
Marc Beckman: And then, um, there was another, um, I guess controversial situation as it relates to law enforcement, um, at Parkland, um, or law, law enforcement failures, specifically, um, didn't the police that arrived on the scene, um, fail to enter the school immediately?
What, what, what happened there? Is that a [00:28:00] training issue also? Can you explain that?
Max Schachter: Yeah, totally. So there were two responding law enforcement agencies. The incident commanders were from the Broward Sheriff's Office, the deputy was from the Broward Sheriff's Office, and all of the initial first responders were from the Broward Sheriff's Office. They only had limited training in active shooter, and it wasn't enough.
And so, They didn't immediately go in the building, neither did the school resource deputy. And when the other deputies arrived, the school resource deputy, who was the incident commander at the time, he 500 feet away, don't come close and, and that he, he not only failed his, his job, but he, he, he impeded the response, uh, telling other officers to stage 500 feet away, not come into the building.
And so. So, the other law enforcement agency that responded, the Coral Springs Police Department, they responded, uh, like heroes, uh, those officers [00:29:00] ran right into the building. But again,
Marc Beckman: was way too late at that point,
Max Schachter: yeah, no, you're right, and, but the difference is the training. Coral Springs Police Department receives active shooter training every year.
And so, they responded like they should have. They went right in the building. Those guys are heroes.
Marc Beckman: So you talk about accountability. How did the, um, police officers, like, how were they accountable? The ones who were delayed, not the Coral Springs group. How were they accountable as it relates to this, this, um, mass murder?
Max Schachter: So the, the Parkland families fought and, um, worked with the governor, uh, governor DeSantis to remove the former sheriff who was responsible for training his deputy. So the Broward, uh, former Broward sheriff, uh, Scott Israel, he was removed from office number one. Uh, and then a lot of those other, some of those officers retired and then the deputy that, that went and hid the coward of Broward.
Uh, he was indicted. He was the [00:30:00] first school resource deputy ever to be indicted, um, on child neglect charges. And so he was indicted on, on seven charges, but unfortunately he was acquitted. And so, uh, right now, um, nothing happened to him and he collects a huge pension, uh, every
Marc Beckman: He's collecting a pension.
Max Schachter: Yeah.
Marc Beckman: that's remarkable. And the FBI was the FBI accountable
Max Schachter: Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, we filed a lawsuit against them. Um, and, and they, they made, they made wholesale changes, uh, after the, uh, director of the FBI, Chris Wray, uh, came to Parkland. I, they were the first ones to come out after Parkland. Uh, the deputy director testified in Congress and, um, they admitted that they, that they dropped the ball and they failed. And then after, um, the director Chris Wray came to Parkland and walked through. the site of the Parkland school shooting before was demolished. [00:31:00] I was invited along with my friend Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter, Jamie, went to Clarksburg, West Virginia to see for ourselves with our own eyes what the FBI had done and changed since Parkland.
I knew that they had made institutional change and I knew they had done a lot, but I wanted to see for myself and And what I saw in Clarksburg, West Virginia, um, was that they no longer have. You know, take this. Don't take this seriously. And they made they made a lot of changes. They created the National Threat Operations Center.
They have highly experienced individuals. Now they've got former hostage negotiators. They've got former chief of police, uh, working up in in in the National Threat Operations Center. And so they are the ones that actually help the United States prevent a lot of mass shootings. That's the FBI tip line.
And so they receive over 5, 000 tips a day and Marc, you know [00:32:00] what the number one tip that the FBI receives every day is school shooting threats. And so, um, they take it very, very seriously now and, and they've stopped a lot, a lot of tragedies. So they're, they're doing a great job.
Marc Beckman: So that's, you know, at a very high level national level government, but let's bring it back down to the parents. I mean, there are so many parents like you and me who are really concerned about our Children's safety. Um, what message would you give a parent who is concerned about the safety of their Children as it relates to something that they can do proactively immediately today constructively Um, to, to mitigate perhaps violence at the school level.
Max Schachter: And, and Marc, you're not, you're, you're so, uh, you know, right on the money. And that is, I get emails constantly from parents saying, Max, my kid's being bullied. What can I do to help Max? Um, my school doesn't have a, a, uh, a school resource officer on campus. There, there's no [00:33:00] armed individual on campus. What do I do, Max?
Um, and you know, I, I forgot to mention the number one best thing that, that Florida has done is that in every K through 12 school across the entire state, we have an armed individual, a minimum of at least one. And uh, some have more than that because two is better than one, three is better than two. And we have armed guardians as well, Marc and they're force multipliers.
So that is, was one of the first changes and one of the huge changes. that, that Florida implemented. But in regards to what parents can do, I recommend that they go to, uh, safeschoolsforalex. org. We have, uh, 10 best practices on school safety. I, I recommend they check out our, our website, uh, check out our school safety dashboard.
If, if you're one of the states, one of the 11 where we have dashboards, check out our, our school safety dashboard. First, they need to be educated about what the best practices are for school safety. [00:34:00] And then, and then number two, they need to have a conversation with, uh, administration and let them know, uh, how important this issue is to them.
Talk to the mayor, talk to their, their state representative, talk to their congressmen, get involved, let these people know that school safety is the most important thing on their mind. And, and they want to make sure that their school is safe. They want to make sure that their school is implementing the best practices.
Uh,
Marc Beckman: impact you? Like when you hear, we keep going back to these recent, uh, school shootings, um, like on a personal level, I understand that you're very motivated, action oriented, but what happens to you? Like, do you relive, re relive this, this horrific experience every single time? Like what, what goes on in your mind when you hear about these current, like the newer school shootings?
Max Schachter: horrible. It's horrible. Um, every one of us that, that are impacted [00:35:00] by these horrible tragedies when the next one happens, it's, it's, it's really painful. And it hurts us. Um, I feel so bad for those families because I know. What I went through. So we just had a school shooting in Nashville prior to that.
We just had a school shooting in in Madison, Wisconsin. And so I'm reaching out to Madison. I'm close with, uh, with their director of school safety, Trish Kilpin. She's doing a great job helping that community after there's their shooting. And what goes through my head is I know that You know, if there's a lot of, a lot of injured and a lot of victims, I remember what happened to us.
They, they had all of us meeting at the Marriott. I got to the Marriott after I had been at the hospital for hours trying to find Alex. Um, then I went to the Marriott, I got there at five o'clock. This is Valentine's day of 2018. So we're coming up on seven years [00:36:00] and I got there at five o'clock and I just wanted to know.
where Alex was. I just wanted to know if I was gonna ever see my little boy again. And they didn't tell me until two o'clock that morning. So they made me wait all those hours. And that's horrific. So that's why I present to a lot of law enforcement agencies to talk about what happened to us. So it never happens another to another family.
And so, you know, my heart, I just I feel so bad for the families that, that are going through this now because I know that they have a hole in their life that will never be filled. And, and, and I hope that the murderers, um, are not here anymore after these shootings happen. So, what goes through my head is, okay, is the, is the murderer, is the shooter alive or is he dead?
And if he's dead, I'm happy because that means that the families don't have to go through and suffer through a trial. Because we had we went through the the trial of the Parkland murderer and that [00:37:00] was I was that was horrible
Marc Beckman: Well, I, I listened to. Your, uh, the statement you gave your speech really at the sentencing and, um, you know, what occurred to me is that you are an incredibly brave, even keeled, action oriented person as it looks to, as, as you seek on finding a solution for violence in schools for school safety, you're not focused on the second amendment, you're not focused on curtailing guns, you're looking at issues of Now.
What measures can people take to create a safe school environment? What measures can people take to perhaps work with those who are mentally ill, um, to find solutions? Like you're very action oriented, but your words, um, when you, when you, uh, spoke in that courtroom, just really, really just nailed me like right to my soul.
You said, you know what, you know what my wish [00:38:00] will be. that you suffer. You said this to your son's killer. You said, you know what my wish will be that you suffer a painful, painful, violent death. And it just like it gave me chills. And I understand. I know that's not who you are and getting to know you.
And on the flip side, I fully believe that you, you want that and that he should have got that. Why? If Florida has a death penalty, why was this killer this like mass killer? Why was his life
Max Schachter: Yeah, and I still don't know that question the answer that question but in Florida it had to be unanimous and so There was one individual. She was a hard. No, she voted for life and then two others Uh, went along with her. So, uh, the Parkland mass murderer got life in prison. And, um, but after that, that injustice, um, was, was served on the [00:39:00] families.
Uh, we worked hard to make sure that never happened to another family. And in coordination with the governor, we got that law changed. And so now it's not unanimous. Now it's a super majority.
Marc Beckman: It seems like the government in some ways as it related to that, uh, the sentencing hearing, um, were unfair to the families of the victims. I believe that they put certain restrictions, in fact, on your statement. What was that all about? I was shocked to hear that, actually. It just seems so irrelevant. Like, at that point, there's, it just seems very unfair to, to restrict you.
Like, there was no legal, there was no relevant legal issue that I saw as to why they would limit your statements in any way.
Max Schachter: Yeah. So, it's the, the Florida Supreme Court that, that limits, uh, a victim impact statement. I, I couldn't talk about the punishment I wanted the murderer to receive. I couldn't talk about the [00:40:00] crime that he had committed. Um, I could only talk about, uh, the impact that it had on Alex and, and what a wonderful little boy he was.
So. That was hard, um, but the justice system, it's, it's, it's really unfair, uh, it favors the, the, the ones, the, the criminals, and, uh, you know, the, the Parkland murderer had, had all these high, high powered attorneys, uh, these death penalty, you know, advocates, and he had a lot of attorneys, and, It was just disgusting what, how they behaved, the defense attorneys.
They, they lowered his chair, they put him in a sweater vest, they put crayons in his hand. He was, he was 19 years old, and they made him look like a child. So, to try to trick the, the, the jurors into, into giving him life, the way they touched him, and the way they, they [00:41:00] caressed him and put their arm around him, it was gross and, and disgusting.
Um, but then in the impact statement that I was able to give afterwards, I was able to, um, tell them, uh, you know, the way I really felt. But during the trial, the prosecution said, you have to be careful. You I couldn't wear a safe schools for Alex shirt. I couldn't wear a safe schools for Alex, um, bracelet.
Um, they told me to, even during trial, like. They don't even cry because the defense would try to get a mistrial and they were right You know, we didn't just have one medical examiner we had seven because there were 17 victims in Parkland and and It was really hard to listen to all of that because there was stuff that I had Shielded my brain because it was too painful and I broke down in court listening to Alex's medical examiner And the next thing I knew the defense was trying to get a mistrial.
It's just
Marc Beckman: Who were, who, who led the [00:42:00] defense? What was the, uh, lead defense attorney's name?
Max Schachter: I tried to, I don't know, um, it was McNeill
Marc Beckman: They were all, um, just trying to monetize the killing, really.
Max Schachter: trying to get off, uh, you know, get him off of, uh, you know, prevent him from, uh, Um, uh, from getting the death penalty in Florida, uh, you know, in, in her closing argument, she said that you don't even have to look at the facts. You just have to vote based on your conscience. And I'm like, how can you not look at the facts, you know, and you'll never forgive yourself and, you know, painting this story like he had all this brain damage, which wasn't true.
Um, and it was just disgusting. So, uh, you know, he's, he's serving life. And I hope that, uh, I hope he gets killed in prison. And
Marc Beckman: Me too. I hope he does also. Are a lot of people around, uh, trying to monetize the Parkland shootings? Like, have you been [00:43:00] approached by Hollywood types? Like, what's that part
Max Schachter: so, some of us, some of us probably have, but we, um, you know, all the families are, are close. We would never, we would never do that. There are some, of course, there was, you know, some woman that, that test, that was trying to help him. And she's trying to help her own, um. You know, foundation, but I hope that's not the case.
You know, that would be absolutely disgusting if it does. Um, you know, so most of the families are just trying to do things to keep their loved ones memories alive. A lot of us have have charities and and all of us want to do everything we can to make sure that it never happens again.
Marc Beckman: Yeah, Max, I, I really admire you so much on so many levels. It's incredible who you are and what you've done. Um, if you had the ability to speak with your son, with Alex, and explain to him, you know, today, what you've, what you've been [00:44:00] doing. Um, what would you say to him?
Max Schachter: I know that.
Marc Beckman: too much of a question?
Max Schachter: Yeah,
Marc Beckman: Uh, you know.
Max Schachter: Yeah, I mean, I know that Alex is in heaven and he's, he's looking down on, on his family and he knows that we miss him and we're trying to make sure that it never happens again. And it's, it's hard every day, you know, I had, I had a beautiful family and, and Alex was a wonderful kid and the world is, is worse off today because Alex and the 16 others are not here today.
They were wonderful, wonderful, it was 14 kids and three staff members. The three staff members, there was one teacher, um, and, and two staff members that ran into the school Marc, uh, to try to save lives and they both were shot and killed because they, they couldn't do anything. You know, they weren't armed.
And, uh, and I believe that if they had been, um, you know, others would be alive today because of that. So that's why Florida passed that law, that there has to be an armed individual on every campus. And in [00:45:00] Florida, parents don't want to send their kids to school without an armed individual. So,
Marc Beckman: that have that law in place today?
Max Schachter: there are some that have, that have the law, but it's, they haven't really fully implemented. They haven't staffed up. Um, they haven't, it's not, it doesn't scale across the state. Um, but you know, again, Florida, uh, there's nothing we take more serious,
Marc Beckman: it should be the priority. It's the next generation. It's our future. It's our children. I mean, I don't understand. I don't see so much allocation of budget towards nonsensical issues over and over again at the federal level at the state level at the local level. I don't know how this issue is not the single most important budgetary issue in, you know, all across this country.
It makes no sense to me, honestly. Yeah. Max, I end each, uh, show in the same way, um, essentially what I do [00:46:00] is I create a leading question which integrates the name of the show, Some Future Day, um, are you game?
Max Schachter: Sure, sure.
Marc Beckman: Alright. In, in some future day, school safety in America will be.
Max Schachter: Safe and non violent and free from violence.
Marc Beckman: Is there anything else you'd like to add, Max?
Max Schachter: No, I think you covered a lot.
Marc Beckman: All right. Well, look, I really, I appreciate your time. I, I, I don't, I want to give you a hug through the screen. I love you. I love your family. Um, you know, just words can't express the emotions that I've gone through and getting to know you for the past couple of days. And, um, I just, I just hope that. All of your, um, your vision, your mission, your activity.
I hope it's all realized. And, um, I just hope that you can forever have your son, Alex, um, within that beautiful light, that beautiful spirit that, um, you described him in when we [00:47:00] started our conversation.
Max Schachter: Thank you, Marc. Thank you for the time and it's been great getting to know you and I look forward to talking to you soon.
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