Around five students from Schamis' class were injured. Two of those killed were students in Ivy Schamis' Holocaust History class Schamis was teaching a class lesson on combating hate when Cruz fired shots into her classroom. Students were unable to seek shelter at "hard corners"-areas of a classroom that people could safely hide at if a gunman peered through the window of a door-because many of the classrooms in Building 12 lacked one, and furniture otherwise obstructed potential safe spaces. Cruz first killed three students in the hallway, then fired through the windows of four closed classroom doors, killing six more students and wounding thirteen others. A fire alarm went off (either pulled by Cruz or activated by smoke from the gunfire), causing confusion because there had been a fire drill earlier in the day. Armed with an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and multiple magazines, Cruz entered a hallway and began firing indiscriminately at students and teachers. Ĭruz entered Building 12, a three-story structure containing 30 classrooms typically occupied by about 900 students and 30 teachers. The first staff member later claimed that his training called for only reporting threats his colleague hid in a closet. However, he did not pursue the shooter or call a "Code Red" to lock down the school. He was spotted and recognized by a staff member who radioed a colleague that he was walking "purposefully" toward Building 12. According to a police report, Cruz was carrying a rifle case and a backpack. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was dropped off at the school by an Uber driver at 2:19 p.m., 20 minutes before dismissal time. The shooting took place during the afternoon of February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, an affluent suburb about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale and 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Miami. ShootingīCSO deputy Scot Peterson outside Building 12 during the shooting On November 2, 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life without parole, in accordance with a Florida law requiring the court not to depart from the jury's recommendation. On October 13, 2022, a jury unanimously agreed that Cruz was eligible for the death penalty, but deadlocked on whether it should be imposed, resulting in a recommendation to sentence him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. After suffering numerous delays, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trial commenced on July 18, 2022. The prosecution sought the death penalty, and a four-month death penalty trial was expected to commence in January 2022. On October 20, 2021, Cruz pleaded guilty to all charges and apologized for his crimes. A commission appointed by then-Governor Scott to investigate the shooting condemned the police inaction and urged school districts across the state to adopt greater measures of security. This led to the resignations of several police officers who responded to the scene, and the removal of Sheriff Scott Israel. The Broward County Sheriff's Office received widespread criticism for its handling of the police response, both for not following up on multiple warnings about Cruz despite a lengthy record of threatening behavior and for staying outside the school instead of immediately confronting him. On March 9, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill that implemented new restrictions to Florida's gun laws and also allowed for the arming of teachers who were properly trained and the hiring of school resource officers. Students at Parkland founded Never Again MSD, an advocacy group that lobbies for gun control. The shooting came at a period of heightened public support for gun control that followed mass shootings in Paradise, Nevada, and in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in October and November 2017. The killing spree is the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in United States history, surpassing the Columbine High School massacre that killed 15, including the perpetrators, in Colorado in April 1999. Police and prosecutors investigated "a pattern of disciplinary issues and unnerving behavior". Cruz, a former student at the school, fled the scene on foot by blending in with other students, and was arrested without incident approximately one hour later in nearby Coral Springs. On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, United States, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II semi-automatic rifleġ7 counts of premeditated first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted first-degree murderģ4 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole Mass murder, mass shooting, school shooting
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