What to Know About Alleged Florida School Shooter Nikolas Cruz
Authorities say they have taken 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz into custody in connection with the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday.
The school shooting suspect was reportedly arrested “without incident” an hour after leaving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School grounds.
Seventeen people were killed and more than 14 were injured in the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
Authorities believe the suspected shooter worked alone. More than 3,200 students attend ninth through 12th grade at the high school, which is staffed by approximately 130 teachers.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed in a evening news conference that Cruz is a former student of the high school who was expelled for disciplinary reasons, Fox News reports. Sen. Bill Nelson also told Fox that Cruz was wearing a gas mask during the shooting and may have been carrying smoke bombs.
Accounts from Peers
In an interview Wednesday evening with CNN, Marjory Stoneman Douglas math teacher Jim Gard, who had Cruz as a student in 2016, was surprised to hear the news of his arrest. “He was a quiet kid in class, I never had any problems with Nick,” Gard said.
Speaking to the Miami Herald, Gard said that he believed an email from the school administration circulated warning teachers that Cruz had made threats against other students. “We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Gard said. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.”
Superintendent Robert Runcie of the Broward County School District told reporters outside the school they had received no concerns about Cruz. “We received no warnings,” he said. “Potentially there could have been signs out there. But we didn’t have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.”
A student named Nicholas Coke interviewed on the scene by WSVN-7 described Cruz as a “loner.” “He had a lot of problems in middle school,” Coke said.
“He’s been a troubled kid,” an unidentified student who said he knew Cruz told local media. “And he’s always had a certain amount of issues going on. He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling.”
“All he would talk about is guns, knives and hunting,” former classmate Joshua Charo, 16, told the Miami Herald. “I can’t say I was shocked. From past experiences, he seemed like the kind of kid who would do something like this.”
Emerging Social Media Profile
Authorities have begun looking into what they describe as Cruz’s social media profile, findings which Sheriff Israel described to reporters as “very, very disturbing.”
Unverified images on social media accounts cited by multiple media sources appear to show a man holding firearms, wielding knives like a claw, and a collection of guns on a bed.
A student who fled Wednesday’s attack, Daniel Huerfano, told the AP he recognized Cruz from an Instagram photo where he posed with a gun in front of his face.
A 17-year-old junior named Dakota Mentcher also recalled to the AP that Cruz had posted Instagrams about killing animals. Mentcher said Cruz would also talk about doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.
“He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there,” Mentcher said. “I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him.”
Life at Home
Cruz was adopted by Lynda and Roger Cruz when he was an infant, ABC reports. According to Kathie Blaine, the cousin of Cruz’s adopted mother who lives in New York, Lynda died of the flu in November. Blaine also said Cruz’s adoptive father died 13 years ago of a heart attack, according to ABC.
Helen Pasciolla, a retired neighbor who lives in the Cruz family’s former neighborhood in Parkland, told the New York Times that Cruz and his brother, Zachary, who was also adopted, had regular behavioral problems. Pasciolla said their mother would sometimes call the police to come over and talk to the boys.
“I think she wanted to scare them a little bit,” Pasciolla said to the Times. “Nikolas has behavioral problems, I think, but I never thought he would be violent.”
Since the death of his mother, Cruz moved in with a friend’s family who lives in Broward, the Miami Herald reports. Cruz began working at a dollar store and attending a school for at-risk youth.
Broward County Mayor Beam Furr told CNN the shooter was getting treatment from mental health clinic for a period of time, but Cruz had not been back for over a year, the AP reports. “It wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him,” Furr said. “We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected … Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. … In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid.”
http://time.com/5159134/who-is-the-florida-shooter-parkland-nicolas-cruz/
Authorities say they have taken 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz into custody in connection with the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday.
The school shooting suspect was reportedly arrested “without incident” an hour after leaving the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School grounds.
Seventeen people were killed and more than 14 were injured in the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
Authorities believe the suspected shooter worked alone. More than 3,200 students attend ninth through 12th grade at the high school, which is staffed by approximately 130 teachers.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel confirmed in a evening news conference that Cruz is a former student of the high school who was expelled for disciplinary reasons, Fox News reports. Sen. Bill Nelson also told Fox that Cruz was wearing a gas mask during the shooting and may have been carrying smoke bombs.
Accounts from Peers
In an interview Wednesday evening with CNN, Marjory Stoneman Douglas math teacher Jim Gard, who had Cruz as a student in 2016, was surprised to hear the news of his arrest. “He was a quiet kid in class, I never had any problems with Nick,” Gard said.
Speaking to the Miami Herald, Gard said that he believed an email from the school administration circulated warning teachers that Cruz had made threats against other students. “We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Gard said. “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus.”
Superintendent Robert Runcie of the Broward County School District told reporters outside the school they had received no concerns about Cruz. “We received no warnings,” he said. “Potentially there could have been signs out there. But we didn’t have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.”
A student named Nicholas Coke interviewed on the scene by WSVN-7 described Cruz as a “loner.” “He had a lot of problems in middle school,” Coke said.
“He’s been a troubled kid,” an unidentified student who said he knew Cruz told local media. “And he’s always had a certain amount of issues going on. He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling.”
“All he would talk about is guns, knives and hunting,” former classmate Joshua Charo, 16, told the Miami Herald. “I can’t say I was shocked. From past experiences, he seemed like the kind of kid who would do something like this.”
Emerging Social Media Profile
Authorities have begun looking into what they describe as Cruz’s social media profile, findings which Sheriff Israel described to reporters as “very, very disturbing.”
Unverified images on social media accounts cited by multiple media sources appear to show a man holding firearms, wielding knives like a claw, and a collection of guns on a bed.
A student who fled Wednesday’s attack, Daniel Huerfano, told the AP he recognized Cruz from an Instagram photo where he posed with a gun in front of his face.
A 17-year-old junior named Dakota Mentcher also recalled to the AP that Cruz had posted Instagrams about killing animals. Mentcher said Cruz would also talk about doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.
“He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there,” Mentcher said. “I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him.”
Life at Home
Cruz was adopted by Lynda and Roger Cruz when he was an infant, ABC reports. According to Kathie Blaine, the cousin of Cruz’s adopted mother who lives in New York, Lynda died of the flu in November. Blaine also said Cruz’s adoptive father died 13 years ago of a heart attack, according to ABC.
Helen Pasciolla, a retired neighbor who lives in the Cruz family’s former neighborhood in Parkland, told the New York Times that Cruz and his brother, Zachary, who was also adopted, had regular behavioral problems. Pasciolla said their mother would sometimes call the police to come over and talk to the boys.
“I think she wanted to scare them a little bit,” Pasciolla said to the Times. “Nikolas has behavioral problems, I think, but I never thought he would be violent.”
Since the death of his mother, Cruz moved in with a friend’s family who lives in Broward, the Miami Herald reports. Cruz began working at a dollar store and attending a school for at-risk youth.
Broward County Mayor Beam Furr told CNN the shooter was getting treatment from mental health clinic for a period of time, but Cruz had not been back for over a year, the AP reports. “It wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him,” Furr said. “We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected … Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. … In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid.”
http://time.com/5159134/who-is-the-florida-shooter-parkland-nicolas-cruz/
