Florida high school shooter Nikolas Cruz tried to break a hurricane proof window so he could set up a perch in order to shoot more students, an official has said.
Cruz has been charged with the premeditated murder of 17 students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida on February 14.
The 19-year-old’s killing spree took place in the three story freshman building on the high school’s campus and investigators believe we wanted to set up a perch there so he could pick off fleeing students.
Cruz threw his gun on the ground then fled with the other students before being caught
The 19-year-old Cruz tried to get a better spot for shooting more students at the freshmen building of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (pictured)
Building 12 (pictured), also known as the freshman building at the school, is where the 17 students were killed on February 14
The building held up to 900 students, the majority of them freshmen. It is believed Cruz wanted a perch from where to shoot student’s trying to escape
Robert Runcie, the Broward County Public Schools superintendent, told ABC News Cruz fired ‘through the window’ of the building with his AR-15 rifle.
‘I had a full briefing from the crime investigators and law enforcement, so that is one of the assumptions and apparently looked like that that was attempted,’ Runcie said.
‘There were shots fired through the window. We’re waiting for the complete investigation so that we can determine exactly what was going on’
A law enforcement source told ABC News Cruz left behind nearly 180 rounds of ammunition – or about six fully-loaded 30-round magazines – when he abandoned his rifle and fled the school.
The source said at least one of the magazines recovered at the scene had a swastika on it.
Cruz posted a picture of his arsenal of weapons, including an AR-15, to his Instagram account
Parents and students arrive at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for its reopening
There was heightened security at the school as students returned this week
Students emerging from the school with their hands in the air after the shooting
Nikolas Cruz appears in court with attorney Melissa McNeil, left. He is facing 17 charges of premeditated murder
Cruz disguised himself among a crowd of fleeing students and managed to get off campus to go to McDonald’s afterwards before he was arrested.
The freshman building – or building 12 as it was also known – held up to 900 students and the school is over capacity, as the Parkland area is a popular residential area.
Florida legislators said they will help the school tear down the building where the shootings happened and replace the site with a memorial to honor the victims and their families at a cost of between $25 million and $30 million.
Sandy Hook Elementary where 20 students and six teachers were killed was demolished after the massacre in 2012.
On Wednesday, Stoneman Douglas students returned to campus for the first time since the massacre amid heightened security across the campus as the teenagers entered their classrooms.
It recently emerged The FBI and the Parkland Police Department both received warnings about Cruz.
He was heard apologizing to Parkland police in a 911 recording following a violent outburst at his trailer park home during which he punched walls and broke items because his guns had been taken away from him.
According to a transcript obtained by the New York Times, a woman called the FBI in January to tell them he had a lot of guns and ammunition and was worried he might be ‘getting into a school and just shooting the place up.’