The newly-released 911 call of the coward Parkland cop reveals that he knew gunman Nikolas Cruz was inside the school despite his 10-day-old claim that he thought the shooting was outdoors.

Scot Peterson was the only officer at the scene in Parkland, Florida, when Nikolas Cruz opened fire on Valentine's Day at about 2.20pm.

Instead of running into the freshman building to try to take down the shooter, Peterson remained outside.

He was fired for the cowardly move but has tried to defend himself by saying he thought the shooter was outside.

On Thursday, his 911 call was released. On it, he can be heard clearly telling the operator that the gunfire is 'inside' the building.

Afterwards, he tells them: 'Do not approach the 12 and 1300 building. Stay at least 500ft away at this point.'

That call was at 2.27pm, by which point gunman Nikolas Cruz had finished killing and had dumped his AR-15 rifle inside to flee in a crowd of scared students.

Peterson' s attorney did not respond to questions on the 911 call on Friday.

He earlier released a statement on his behalf defending his behavior.

'Let there be no mistake, Mr. Peterson wishes that he could have prevented the untimely passing of the seventeen victims on that day, and his heart goes out to the families of the victims in their time of need,' he said.

PETERSON'S 911 CALLS 2.23pm: 'Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers. I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired —1200 building' Seconds later, he says: 'Get the school locked down, gentlemen.' 2.25pm: 'All right... We also heard it’s by, inside the 1200' 2.27pm: 'Do not approach. Stay at least 500 feet away at this point.' Advertisement

'However, the allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue.'

They said that he believed the shooter was outside because he had listened to others on the police radio saying that the gunman was 'outside' and near the 'football field'.

The 911 calls show that deputies do make reference to the football field as the shooter's possible location but Peterson is heard afterwards saying it was 'inside' the freshman building.

His first radio call went out at 2.23pm.

'Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers. I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired —1200 building,' he said.

Once he had made his way there, he radioed again to confirm the location of the shooting but did not specify whether the shots were coming from inside or outside the building.

'All right... We also heard it’s by, inside the 1200,' he said at 2.25pm.

Panicked as the shots intensified, he then said: 'Get the school locked down gentleman!'

Jeff Bell, the president of BSO’s police union, said the audio proved Peterson was cowardly on the day of the shooting.

'It certainly backs up that he never went into the school. At one point he says to keep back 500 feet,' he told The Miami Herald.

'Why would he say that?'

Students being evacuated by a SWAT team which entered 24 minutes after the school resource officer's first call

Scot Peterson (above left) has defended not going into the school by saying that he thought the shots were coming from outside. Also under scrutiny is captain Jan Jordan (right) who ordered deputies to 'stage a perimeter' around the school before going inside

The Broward County Sheriff's Office and its handling of the shooting has faced intense scrutiny and is now the subject of a House Committee investigation.

Sheriff Scott Israel condemned Peterson's response as cowardly, as has President Trump.

There are also questions over why captain Jan Jordan, who was issuing commands on the day of the shooting, ordered deputies to form a perimeter once they had arrived at the school instead of telling them to go inside straight away.

The first SWAT teams did not enter the school until 2.47pm, 15 minutes after Jordan's perimeter request and 24 minutes after Peterson's first call which referenced 'firecrackers'.

As Peterson called 911, so too did countless students inside the school. They also texted their parents to tell them that a shooting was unfolding

Terrifying video from inside a classroom on the day of the shooting shows students hiding under desks

Other harrowing calls from students and parents were also released on Thursday.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, is in custody on 17 capital murder charges and 17 counts of attempted murder

They included a mother speaking through a 911 operator to tell her daughter: 'I love you, I love you.

'It's going to be fine. Can you hide somewhere? Can you play dead? You need to do it.

'If he shoots, you need to play dead … Tell her to pray. Tell her to pray for strength.'

The dispatcher then told her: 'Be quiet, be quiet, keep the phone line open.

'Don't move. Just stay hidden.'

The calls began at 2.21pm, a minute before Peterson's first one.

Cruz was dropped off at the school by an Uber at 2.19pm and began shooting within seconds of entering the school.

PARKLAND SHOOTING TIMELINE 2.06pm: Nikolas Cruz is collected in an Uber 2. 18pm: Cruz sends final text to the son of the Sneads, the family he was living with. He asked him what classroom he was in at the school and what teacher he had. His final message was: 'Yo' 2.19pm: Cruz, 19, is dropped off by Uber 2:21:18pm: He is seen entering building 12 on surveillance cameras from the school 2:21:33pm Cruz starts firing his rifle 2.22pm: First 911 call from the shooting is made to Coral Springs 2.23pm: Scot Peterson, the school resource officer, makes his first 911 call over his radio and describes the gunfire as 'possible firecrackers' At the same time, he is seen on surveillance videos making his way there 2:25:08pm: Another officer is hear on radio saying: 'I hear shots by the football field, shots fired by the football field 2.25:18pm: Peterson says: 'We're looking at the 1200 building, it's going to be the 300 building, it's right off Holmberg Road, by the senior lot' 2:25:38pm: Peterson says 'get the school locked down gentleman' 2:25:56pm: Petersons says: We also heard it's by, inside the 1200 building' 2:26pm: Students are seen running west towards football field 2:27: 35pm: Cruz is seen on school surveillance cameras dropping his AR-15 in the stairwell 2.27: 55pm: He is filmed leaving the west side of the building 2.28pm: Seconds later, Peterson says over his radio: 'Do not approach. Stay at least 500 feet away at this point.' 2:29pm: Cruz is filmed on another surveillance camera on the other side of campus 2:31pm: Broward County Captain Jan Jordan joins the radio communication. She asks: 'I know there is a lot going on , do we have a perimeter set up right now and everyone cleared out of the school?' 2.32pm: Four Coral Springs Police Department officers go into the building through the west door 2.33pm: Broward County Police Captain Jan Jordan says: 'I want to make sure that we have a perimeter set up and the school, all the kids are getting out, but we need to shut down around this school.' 2.33pm: A Broward County Sheriff's Officer says there is a team entering the school from the north side 2:35pm: A Broward County Sheriff's Officer and a Coral Springs Police Department officer pull a victim from the school and drive them away on a golf cart 2:36pm: 1O officers (8 from Coral Springs and 2 from Broward County) enter the first floor 2.50pm: Cruz enters a Walmart and buys a drink at the Subway then runs away on foot 2:51 p.m: First notice of shootings to local hospital Broward Health North. 2:55 p.m: First victim arrives at ER at Broward Health North. 3:01 p.m: Cruz goes to McDonalds, sits down for a short time and then leaves on foot 3:40 p.m: Cruz is arrested near 4700 Wyndham Lakes Drive in Coral Springs Advertisement