The 19-year-old accused of murdering 17 people in a Florida high school last week had at least seven legally acquired long guns – including an AK-47-style rifle he bought less than a month ago.
Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with 17 counts of murder after the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, owned an assortment of shotguns and other firearms as well as the rifles.
A law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said the other three guns Cruz had access to are not thought to have been bought legally.
Federal law allows those 18 and over to buy rifles, and Cruz passed background checks necessary to obtain the weapons over roughly a year.
The 19-year-old accused of murdering 17 people in a Florida high school last week had at least seven legally acquired long guns – including an AK-47-style rifle he bought less than a month ago. Pictured: A post on Nikolas Cruz’s Instagram showing his weapons stash
Nikolas Cruz (left), who has been charged with 17 counts of murder after the slaughter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, owned an assortment of shotguns and other firearms as well as the rifles. Right: An Instagram post on Cruz’s account showing a rifle
Federal law allows those 18 and over to buy rifles, and Cruz (pictured being arrested) passed background checks necessary to obtain the weapons over roughly a year
Cruz, 19, was trained to use weapons and had taken a marksmanship course with the US Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, a former friend has revealed. he’s seen above posing on Instagram
Meanwhile, a hundred Stoneman Douglas students are busing 400 miles to Florida’s capital today to urge lawmakers to act to prevent a repeat of the massacre that killed 17 students and faculty last week.
The students plan to hold a rally Wednesday in hopes that it will put pressure on the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to consider a sweeping package of gun-control laws, something some GOP lawmakers said Monday they would consider.
Shortly after the shooting, several legislative leaders were taken on a tour of the school to see the damage firsthand and they appeared shaken afterward.
Shortly after the shooting, several legislative leaders were taken on a tour of the school to see the damage firsthand and they appeared shaken afterward. Pictured: A gun being held in a picture on Cruz’s Instagram
‘I really think they are going to hear us out,’ said Chris Grady, a 19-year-old senior who is going on the trip. He said he hopes the trip will lead to some ‘commonsense laws like rigorous background checks.’
The attack last Wednesday seemed to overcome the resistance of some in the state’s leadership, which has rebuffed gun restrictions since Republicans took control of both the governor’s office and the legislature in 1999.
However, there is still strong resistance by many in the party to any gun-control measures, leaving the fate of new restrictions unclear.
Students have also vowed to exert pressure on Congress as the aftermath of the rampage resonates beyond Florida and from coast to coast.
Hundreds of chanting protesters converged Monday on a downtown Los Angeles park, demanding tougher background checks and other gun-safety measures after the shooting.
Some signs held up by the California demonstrators read, ‘Your Children Are Counting On You.’
Senator Bill Galvano, a Republican and the incoming Florida senate president, said the state senate was preparing a package that would include raising the age to purchase any firearm to 21, creating a waiting period for purchasing any type of firearm, banning bump stocks that can allow semi-automatic guns to spray bullets quickly and creating gun-violence restraining orders.
Authorities said suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, had a string of run-ins with school authorities that ended with his expulsion.
Police also were repeatedly called to his house throughout his childhood. Cruz’s lawyers said there were repeated warning signs that he was mentally unstable and potentially violent.
Cruz did not look up at all yesterday and spoke only to his attorney, public defender Melissa McNeill, and another representative from the public defender’s office
While McNeill spoke to the judge, Cruz was comforted by British barrister Jodie Woodward who is volunteering at the Broward County Public Defender’s Office on capital cases
Yet he legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle.
‘We need to make sure everything is working and to learn from the experience,’ said Galvano, who was among those who visited the school.
The senate is also considering boosting spending on mental health programs for schools and giving law-enforcement greater power to involuntarily hold someone considered a danger to themselves.
The body will also look at a proposal to deputize a teacher or someone else at school so they are authorized to have a gun.
Galvano said senators want to examine ways to protect schools that do not have resource officers – often armed law enforcement officers – on site.
Cruz bought the deadly AR-15 that he used to shoot dead 17 people at a Florida high school from Sunrise Tactical Supply (seen above) in a shopping center in Coral Springs
Law enforcement spent five hours inside Sunrise Tactical Supplies, in Coral Springs, amid an investigation into how alleged school shooter Cruz armed himself. Pictured: Stuart Kaplan, an attorney representing the corporate entity, Sunrise Tactical Supply, and Douglas Rudman, who represents shop owners Michael and Lisa Morrison
State House leaders and Governor Rick Scott also are considering possible changes to firearms rules but have not given any details. Scott planned meetings Tuesday on school safety, and said he would announce proposals on mental health issues later in the week.
Still, some Republicans questioned whether additional gun restrictions are the answer.
‘I really don’t want to see this politicized into a gun debate,’ Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley.
Referring to gun-control advocates, he said: ‘Sometimes I wish they were right, that this would fix it, but it won’t … We have a terrible problem with obesity, but we’re not banning forks and spoons.’
Democrats believe raising the age limit and creating a waiting period to buy rifles isn’t enough.
‘That’s unacceptable. That’s a joke,’ said Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer of Broward County. ‘I don’t see that as a restriction. It never should have been that an 18-year-old could buy an assault weapon. No Floridians should be able to buy an assault weapon.’
In Washington on Monday, protesters staged a lie in in front of the White House to call on stricter gun laws
Female students attend the funeral of Alaina Petty in Coral Springs, Florida, on Monday
Another young JROTC student is comforted outside the church (left) and two teenage girls console one another (right)
Cruz made his first appearance in court Monday. Wearing a prison jumpsuit, he kept his head down and did not appear to make eye contact with the judge or others in the courtroom, though he responded briefly to someone on the defense team. A previous appearance was by a video connection from jail.
His lawyers have said he will plead guilty if prosecutors agree not to pursue the death penalty. No decision has been made on that.
Since the attack, students from the school have become increasingly vocal in their demands for gun-control measures.
Many have pointed out politicians who take financial support from the National Rifle Association, and some have lashed out at President Donald Trump, saying he was busy blaming Democrats for failing to pass gun restrictions while taking no action of his own.
After staying largely mum in the last few days about the massacre and the escalating debate about weapons, Trump said Monday that he was supportive of a bipartisan effort to strengthen federal background checks for gun purchases.
Students are also calling for anti-gun violence demonstrations in Washington and other cities March 24.
Organizers behind the anti-Trump Women’s March called for a 17-minute nationwide walkout by teachers and students on March 14, and a gun-control group was calling for a rally to ban assault weapons Wednesday at the Florida Capitol.
PICTURED: Fourteen students, geography teacher, coach and athletic director shot dead in Florida high school massacre
Jaime Guttenberg, 14, (left) was described by relatives as a ‘kind-hearted, sweet’ girl. She attended the school with her younger brother who survived and rushed home afterwards. Senior Nicholas Dworet (right) was a gifted swimmer who had his sights set on 2020 Tokyo Olympics success. His devastated college student girlfriend is among those grieving his death. Friends said he was not just a talented athlete, but a ‘good guy’ who will be missed
Martin Duque, 14, (left) was missing for hours on Wednesday and his frantic family desperately appealed for him to get in touch on social media. On Thursday, his older brother Miguel confirmed his death. Martin was a freshman. Meadow Pollack, 18, (right) was preparing for college. Her father was at the school on Wednesday and showed her photograph around in the hope that she would be found alive
Cara Loughran (left) was missing on Wednesday afternoon. Her mother Denise and her father rushed to the designated hotel where parents were told to go to be reunited with their children in the hope that she would be found alive. Her grieving neighbor confirmed her death on Thursday. Alyssa Alhadeff, 15, (right) was eulogized by her mother who said she was a talented soccer player and creative mind. ‘All she had to offer the world was love… I just sent her to school and she was shot and killed,’ she said
Luke Hoyer, 15, (left) was described as a ‘precious’ child by his grandparents who confirmed his death. They found out about the shooting on television. They said he was a ‘good kid’ who ‘never got in trouble’. Joaquin Oliver, 17, (right) was also killed. Joaquin was a Venezuelan immigrant who came to the US with his family for a ‘better future’, they said on Thursday
Gina Montalto, 15, (left) was described as a ‘light and joy’. She and Jaime, another victim, volunteered at a local project called The Friendship Initiative where they acted as buddies for children with special needs. Gina’s mother Jennifer shared pleas to find her on social media on Wednesday. Alaina Petty, 14, (right) was also killed. Her Mormon church confirmed her death, saying she was a ‘valiant’ member
Carmen Schentrup, 16, (left) was also killed in the shooting. Carmen was a gifted student who last year was named as a semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. It includes students who score above average in their SATs or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. ROTC student Peter Wang, 15, (right) also died. His parents speak little English and relied on their neighbor to post social media appeals looking for him. They went to the Marriott hotel with other parents to wait for news of him on Wednesday night and have since confirmed that he was among those killed
Alex Schachter, 14, (left) was also killed. His mother died when he was a child and he attended the school in Florida with his brother, who survived. The teenager’s father Max said he was a ‘sweetheart of a child’ who ‘just wanted to do well and please his parents’. Helena Ramsey, 17, (right) was described by relatives as a ‘reserved’ and studious girl who was due to go to college next year
Geography Scott Beigel, 35, (left) was shot dead as he tried to lock the door of his classroom again after letting a group of fleeing students in to hide. They were running away from the gunman. Aaron Feis, 37, (right) died acting as a human shield. The track coach had thrown himself on top of the kids to stop the bullets from hitting him. He was a former student and was also a security guard at the school where he had worked for eight years
Athletic director Chris Hixon, 49, was also killed shielding students