Nikolas Cruz
Nikolas Cruz | |
|---|---|
Cruz's mugshot following his arrest | |
| Born | September 24, 1998 Margate, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (expelled) |
| Occupation | Former Dollar Tree cashier |
| Known for | Perpetrator of the Parkland high school shooting |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated (location undisclosed) |
| Motive | Disputed:
|
| Convictions | 17 counts of premeditated First-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | 34 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole |
| Details | |
| Date | February 14, 2018 |
| Targets | Students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School |
| Killed | 17 |
| Injured | 17 |
| Weapons | Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II semi-automatic rifle (Glock 45 semi auto pistol, unused in shooting) (remington 700 bolt action rifle, unused in shooting) |
Nikolas Jacob Cruz (born September 24, 1998) is an American mass murderer who perpetrated the Parkland high school shooting, where he shot and killed fourteen students and three staff members while injuring seventeen others on February 14, 2018. In November 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the shooting, which remains one of the deadliest high school shootings in the United States.
Cruz had been known for behavioral problems since preschool, and as a teenager on social media he shared his obsessions with mass shootings and expressed racist, sexist, antisemitic, xenophobic, and homophobic views. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He legally purchased various firearms prior to the shooting.