Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty, says he’s ‘very sorry’
- The former student apologised to the families of the 17 people he killed in the Valentine’s Day 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
- Cruz faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole but prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty
A former student pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing 17 people in a shooting rampage at a high school in Parkland, Florida, and apologised in court to relatives of the victims.
Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time, took a legally purchased AR-15 assault rifle into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, his former school, on Valentine’s Day in 2018 and killed 17 students and staff members.
Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder for those wounded during the attack, which sparked a student-led movement for tighter gun control laws.
Cruz, who was dressed in a blue collared shirt and sweater vest and wearing large glasses and a face mask, responded “guilty” as Judge Elizabeth Scherer read off each of the charges in a Fort Lauderdale courthouse.
He told the judge he was suffering from a “little anxiety” but understood the charges against him and was pleading guilty of his own volition.