On the afternoon of February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed and fourteen more were taken to hospitals, making it one of the world's deadliest school massacres. The suspected perpetrator, 19-year-old Nikolas Jacob Cruz, was arrested shortly afterward and confessed, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO). He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
The BSO received two tips in 2016 and 2017 about Cruz's threats to carry out a school shooting. The FBI received a tip that Nikolas Cruz planned to shoot up a school in September 2017. In January 2018, the FBI's hotline received another tip, which alleged that Cruz had made a death threat and potentially shoot a school.
Police and prosecutors have not yet established a motive and are investigating "a pattern of disciplinary issues and unnerving behavior". Some of the students who survived the shooting became gun control activists and founded the advocacy group Never Again MSD.
Video Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
Shooting
The shooting took place during the afternoon of February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, took an Uber ride and was dropped off at the school at 2:19 p.m. EST.
Cruz entered the "freshman building", a three-story structure containing 30 classrooms typically occupied by about 900 students and 30 teachers. Armed with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle and multiple magazines, he activated a fire alarm and began firing at students and teachers. The fire alarm caused confusion as there had been a fire drill earlier in the day.
Cruz had legally purchased the rifle from a nearby Coral Springs gun store in February 2017. At about 2:21, near dismissal time, staff members heard gunfire and activated a code red lockdown. A school resource officer of the Broward County Sheriff's Office heard gunfire and rushed to the scene but never went in during the shooting and instead maintained a defensive position. Three other Broward deputies were also present at the scene, but neither of them went in and engage the shooter. Such inaction violated the active shooter protocol that required any officer at the scene to neutralize the attacker immediately as opposed to waiting for backup with better resources and personnel, a practice which ended after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.
The shooting lasted six minutes, after which Cruz dropped his rifle on the 3rd floor of the building and left the scene by blending in with fleeing students. He walked to a Walmart, where he purchased a soda at its Subway restaurant. He then walked to a McDonald's and lingered before leaving on foot at 3:01. At about 3:40, he was stopped by a police officer in Coral Springs--two miles from the school--and taken into custody without incident. He was taken to a hospital emergency room with "labored breathing", released after 40 minutes, then booked into the Broward County Jail.
School surveillance camera footage was used to identify Cruz as the suspected perpetrator. He was recognized by a staffer before he entered the building and was also recognized by witnesses during the incident.
Maps Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
Victims
Fourteen students and three staff members were killed and many others wounded or injured, including at least 14 who were taken to area hospitals. Three remained in critical condition on February 15 and one by the following day. Of those killed, 12 died in the school, two just outside the school buildings, one on the street, and two at the hospital. The names of the dead, along with their ages, were:
Scott Beigel, a geography teacher, was killed after he unlocked a classroom for students to hide in, and some survived because the gunman did not enter the classroom. Aaron Feis, an assistant football coach and security guard, was shot and killed as he shielded two students. Chris Hixon, the school's athletic director, was killed as he ran toward the sound of the gunfire.
Fifteen-year-old Peter Wang was last seen in his Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) uniform, holding open doors so others could get out more quickly. He was called a hero, and a White House petition was circulated calling for him to be buried with full military honors. He, Alaina Petty, and Martin Duque were all posthumously honored by the U.S. Army with the ROTC Medal for Heroism at their funerals, and Wang was buried in his JROTC Blues uniform. On February 20, he was awarded a rare posthumous admission to the United States Military Academy.
Nikolas Cruz
The suspected shooter was identified as Nikolas Jacob Cruz, a 19-year-old former student at the school. Cruz was born on September 24, 1998, in Margate, Florida, and was adopted at age two. His adoptive father died during his childhood. His adoptive mother died at age 68 in November 2017. He had been living with relatives and friends since her death.
Cruz was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) and had received multiple awards "including academic achievement for maintaining an A grade in JROTC and Bs in other subjects". He was also a member of his school's varsity air rifle team. In attempts to deal with his behavior issues, he was transferred between schools six times in three years.
In 2014, he was transferred to a school for children with emotional or learning disabilities, and returned to Stoneman Douglas High School two years later. The Florida Department of Children and Families investigated him in September 2016 for Snapchat posts in which he cut both his arms and said he planned to buy a gun. State investigators reported Cruz had depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In their assessment, they concluded he "was at low risk of harming himself or others". He had previously received mental health treatment, but had not received treatment in the year leading up to the shooting. An email from the school administration had circulated among teachers, warning that Cruz had made threats against other students. This led the school to ban him from wearing a backpack on campus.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel described Cruz's online profiles and accounts as "very, very disturbing". They contained pictures and posts of him with a variety of weapons, including long knives, a shotgun, a pistol, and a BB gun. Police said Cruz held "extremist" views and social media accounts believed to be linked to him contain anti-black and anti-Muslim slurs. Cruz's YouTube videos included comments stating "I wanna die Fighting killing shit ton of people", threats against police officers and Antifa, and that he intended to mimic the University of Texas tower shooting.
According to CNN, Cruz advocated for the killing of Mexicans, blacks, and gay people. He said that his hate for black people was "simply because they were black"; he referred to white women in interracial relationships as traitors, and he also expressed anti-immigrant and antisemitic views.
A former classmate said Cruz had anger management problems and often joked about guns and gun violence, including "shooting up establishments". A 2016 graduate's brother described him as "super stressed out all the time and talked about guns a lot and tried to hide his face". A current student said, "I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him." A classmate assigned to work with him in sophomore year said, "He told me how he got kicked out of two private schools. He was held back twice. He had aspirations to join the military. He enjoyed hunting." Cruz also bragged about killing animals. A neighbor said Cruz's mother would call the police over to the house to try to "talk some sense" into him.
Earlier warnings to law enforcement
The BSO received tips about Cruz's threats to shoot up the school on February 5, 2016, and on November 30, 2017. On September 23, 2016, a peer counselor notified Peterson of Cruz's suicide attempt and intent to buy a gun; the school indicated it would do a "threat assessment". In total, the sheriff's office received 23 calls about Cruz over a decade.
On September 24, 2017, Cruz left a comment on another user's YouTube video, stating "Im going to be a professional school shooter". The user reported the comment to the FBI, but according to FBI agent Robert Lasky, the FBI was unable to track down who made the comment after conducting database reviews and checks. On January 5, 2018, the FBI's Public Access Line (PAL) received a tip from a person who was close to Cruz. On February 16 (two days after the shooting), the agency released a statement that detailed this information. According to the statement, "The caller provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting." After conducting an investigation, the FBI said the PAL did not follow protocol when the information was not forwarded to the Miami Field Office, where investigative steps would have been taken. The FBI opened a probe into the tip line's operations.
Legal proceedings
At his arraignment on February 15, Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and ordered held without bond. If convicted of capital murder by a jury, he could face the death penalty. According to an affidavit by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, he confessed to the shooting, stating that he brought additional loaded magazines hidden in a backpack.
The public defender's office said he will plead guilty if the death penalty is taken off the table. The chief public defender in Broward County said that it is not yet known if Cruz's attorneys will seek an insanity defense. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said she is certain prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
Cruz was placed on suicide watch in an isolation cell after the arraignment.
Aftermath
First responders established a triage tent outside the school. The school district provided grief counseling to students and their families. Additionally, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said the cost of funerals and counseling would be covered by the state.
At least three counties of Florida and Virginia increased police presence at schools on February 15 in response to the shooting. The building where the shooting took place will be torn down.
The school resource officer who did not attempt to engage Cruz, a sheriff's deputy, was later suspended without pay and tendered his resignation. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that "[the deputy] was absolutely on campus for this entire event" and that he should have "went in, addressed the killer, killed the killer".
Political reactions
President Donald Trump offered his prayers and condolences to the victims' families, writing, "no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school". In a televised address, he mentioned school safety and mental health issues. Florida Governor Rick Scott ordered flags at state buildings to be flown at half-staff in the state of Florida, and Trump later ordered flags be flown at half-staff for the entire country. Two days after the shooting, Trump and his wife Melania paid a one-hour visit to the victims' hospital, congratulating physicians and posing with staff for photos.
On February 22, Trump met with students and others at the White House for a "listening session". He suggested arming up to 20% of the teachers to stop "maniacs" from attacking students. The following day he called a "gun free" school a "magnet" for criminals and tweeted, "Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!"
BBC News characterized Republican politicians' reactions as focusing on mental health issues while dodging debate on gun control, with the reasoning that it was either "too political or too soon". Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said that this was the time to "step back and count our blessings" instead of "taking sides and fighting each other politically". Florida Senator Marco Rubio said that "most" proposals on stricter gun laws "would not have prevented" this shooting nor "any of those [shootings] in recent history" and that lawmakers should take action with "focus on the violence part" alongside guns.
Al Hoffman Jr., a prominent Republican donor in Florida, pledged to no longer fund legislative groups or candidates who were not actively working to ban sales of military-style assault weapons to civilians, saying "For how many years now have we been doing this - having these experiences of terrorism, mass killings - and how many years has it been that nothing's been done?"
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel called on lawmakers to amend the Baker Act to allow police to detain and hospitalize people who make disturbing posts on social media, not just clear threats. "I'm talking about being around bombs, possibly talking about 'I want to be a serial killer', talking about taking people's lives", he said. "Just taking a picture with a gun or a knife or a weapon - that in and of itself is clearly not even remotely something that we're concerned about."
Gun control debate
Several student survivors criticized the response from politicians, asking them instead of offering condolences to take action to prevent more children from being killed in shootings. Some of these students have demanded stricter gun control measures. Student and survivor Emma González was noted for her speech rebuking thoughts and prayers from the government. She has since emerged as one of the leaders of a protest movement against gun violence in the United States. Broward County Schools Superintendent Rob Runcie said, "now is the time to have a real conversation about gun control legislation".
Some of the student survivors organized a group called Never Again MSD in the aftermath of the shooting, which began on social media using the hashtag #NeverAgain. The group demanded legislative action to prevent similar shootings, and has condemned lawmakers who received political contributions from the National Rifle Association. On February 17 in Fort Lauderdale, the group held a rally attended by hundreds of supporters.
Since the shooting, several more rallies have been planned to take place with the focus on legislative action. The Women's March Network is planning a 17-minute school walkout on March 14. "March for Our Lives" is planned for March 24 and intends to be a nationwide student demonstration. The event will include a march in Washington, D.C. On April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, all-day walkouts are planned for teacher groups by Diane Ravitch and David Berliner, and for student groups by Lane Murdock of Ridgefield High School.
On February 20, dozens of Stoneman Douglas High School students went to the State Capital in Tallahassee and watched as the Florida House of Representatives rejected a bill that would have banned assault weapons. Students strongly criticized the vote. The bill's sponsor, Carlos Guillermo Smith, noted the peculiarity of the timing of the rejection both because of the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School and because the Florida House of Representatives had just recently passed a bill declaring that pornography is a public health risk.
Conspiracy theories and disinformation
Right-wing conspiracy theories circulated after the shooting. The theories included false claims that it never happened or that it was staged by crisis actors. In one of the false claims, Benjamin A. Kelly, a district secretary for Republican state Rep. Shawn Harrison, sent an email to the Tampa Bay Times stating "[b]oth kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis [sic] when they happen". The "kids" in the picture were actually students at Stoneman Douglas High School who were interviewed by CNN. As a result of the backlash, Kelly was fired hours later. Former Republican congressman and CNN contributor Jack Kingston suggested student demonstrators were paid by billionaire George Soros or were supported by members of Antifa. A video espousing a conspiracy theory that Stoneman student David Hogg was a crisis actor reached No. 1 on YouTube's trending page before it was removed by the company.
According to the Alliance for Securing Democracy, Russia-linked accounts on Twitter used the shooting's aftermath to inflame tensions by posting loaded comments that support or oppose gun control to divide Americans. Other Russia-linked accounts labeled the shooting a false flag operation that the U.S. government would exploit to seize guns from citizens.
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
- "UPDATE -Regarding Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School February 14, 2018, 9 p.m." - Broward County Public Schools
- "UPDATE: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School February 15, 2018, 6 p.m." - Broward County Public Schools
- "From Superintendent Robert W. Runcie-Today's Tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School" - Broward County Public Schools
External links
- "Seeking Information on School Shooting in Parkland, Florida" - Federal Bureau of Investigation
Source of article : Wikipedia
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