Tori and Anthony Gonzalez (The Parkland School Attack) - Episode 467

Behind The Shield

Tori Gonzalez was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when a former student murdered 17 schoolchildren and staff in 2018, including her boyfriend Joaquin Oliver.

Anthony Gonzalez is Tori's father and was one of the responding firefighters to the attack.

We discuss their early lives, Tori and Joaquin's romance, the aftermath of the massacre, grief, tactical medicine, the media, mental health and so much more.

Tori Gonzalez is a young artist, transforming pain into purpose, dedicated to pouring her heart into creating pieces that inspire and comfort others on their journey of healing.

Anthony Gonzalez is the Coral Springs–Parkland Fire Department Battalion Chief assigned to the Training Division. Battalion Chief Gonzalez has been with the city since 1995 where he began his career as a volunteer firefighter for the department until 2000 when he became a full-time firefighter for the city.

In addition to serving as one of the chiefs of training, Battalion Chief Gonzalez is also an instructor and is involved in several areas within the organization.

Battalion Chief Gonzalez earned his AS degree in Fire Science and is a State of Florida Certified Live Fire Instructor, Instructor 2, Fire Officer 2, Incident Safety Officer, Fire Safety Inspector 2, Fire Investigator 1 and a FLUSAR Rescue Specialist. Furthermore, he received his Fire Officer Designation from the Center of Public Safety Excellence (CSPE).

Responsible for training members of the team when participating in scheduled training throughout the year, Battalion Chief Gonzalez is a member of the Urban Search and Rescue Team, Florida Task Force II where he is a squad boss and directs crews on varies assignments when deployed. A few of his deployments included Hurricane Michael in 2018 and in Puerto Rico in 2020 for the Earthquakes.

Moreover, Battalion Chief Gonzalez is a Fire Instructor for the Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety and has been teaching programs since 2004. Some of those programs are, minimum standards, Driver Operator, and all the courses related to Special Operations. In addition to the Special Operations curriculum, Battalion Chief Gonzalez is the Lead Instructor for the Trench Rescue course where students learn how to remove individuals trapped in a collapsed trench. This particular program leads the construction industry as being one of the most hazardous type of work in that industry. Battalion Chief Gonzalez also provides all types of training, education, knowledge and skills required to do the job.

Battalion Chief Gonzalez has received several awards and recognitions throughout his career including Administrative, Lifesaving, Unit and Team Citations and Meritorious Awards.