Gunman kills 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former Douglas High School student, shot and killed seventeen people, three faculty and fourteen students, on February 14, 2018 using a semi automatic AR-15 rifle.
Cruz arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at 2:19pm in an Uber. The shooter then pulled the school’s fire alarm to create panic and lure students out into the hallways. Cruz shot into five classrooms and shot at people fleeing in hallways and outside.
Cruz was able to blend in with fleeing students to make his escape. Due to delayed security cameras, he was able to escape unnoticed. He was later found in a nearby neighborhood.
Cruz was taken into custody and faces seventeen counts of premeditated murder.
Many say important warning signs were missed. Cruz was a part of a suspicious Instagram group chat that showed and talked about guns.
Ben Bennight had reported to the FBI about a suspicious Youtube comment left on his channel by a user named “nikolas cruz.” The comment said “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” and concerned Bennight, who notified Youtube. Youtube then deleted the comment.
The family hosting Cruz, after his adoptive mother passed away from pneumonia, said they saw no clues that he would do something like this. To them, he seemed “polite” and “normal,” as said by James and Kimberly Snead.
Survivors of the school shooting are now protesting for stricter gun laws and higher mental health awareness. 100 students from Stoneman Douglas High School traveled 400 miles to Tallahassee to promote a ban of assault rifles and other assault weapons. The Florida house voted 36-71 against a procedural vote that would have moved the bill further. Students left upset and chanted “throw them out,” meaning to take action against lawmakers who voted against the ban.
Across the nation, many high school students have participated in walkouts, including many Florida high schools. Florida students walked up to ten miles to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to stand in support of the students rallying for change.
Students stand with the ‘#Never Again’ movement in hopes that another tragedy like this will never happen again.
Walk to Safety- Survivors of the shooting walk out of Stoneman Douglas High School with their hands up after the horrific tragedy. Meanwhile, Cruz was found in a nearby neighborhood after visiting a Walmart and a Subway.
