Nikolas Jacob Cruz (born September 24, 1998)[3][4][5] 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.

Cruz had been known for behavioral problems since preschool,[6] and as a teenager on social media he shared his obsessions with mass shootings and expressed racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and xenophobic views.

[13] Cruz was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps and had received multiple awards including academic achievement for "maintaining an A grade in JROTC and Bs in other subjects", according to CNN.

According to The Washington Post Cruz was "well-known to school and mental health authorities and was entrenched in the process for getting students help rather than referring them to law enforcement".

[23] 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.

At this time, a school resource officer suggested[24] he undergo an involuntary psychiatric examination under the provisions of the Baker Act.

[25] State investigators reported he had depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and had a history of attempting suicide.

According to their redacted report, which was reviewed in August 2018 by The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and other media, a year before the shooting, Cruz had sought help from education specialists, as his grades at Stoneman Douglas were declining.

Police said that he held "extremist" views; social media accounts that were thought to be linked to him contained anti-black and anti-Muslim slurs.

[8] YouTube comments linked to him include "I wanna die Fighting killing shit ton of people", and threats against police officers.

[8][33][34][35] In February 2017, Cruz legally purchased an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle from a Coral Springs gun store, after having passed the required background check.

[39] CNN reported that Cruz was in a private Instagram group chat where he expressed racist, antisemitic, xenophobic, and homophobic views.

CNN used a public records request to obtain a sheriff's office log, which showed that from 2008 to 2017, at least 45 calls were made in reference to Cruz, his brother, or the family home combined.

[45][46][47] In September 2016, three people—a sheriff's deputy who worked as a resource officer at Stoneman Douglas, and two of the school's counselors—stated that Cruz should be committed for mental evaluation.

[48][49] On September 24, 2017, a person with the username "nikolas cruz" posted a comment to a YouTube video that read, "Im [sic] going to be a professional school shooter."

According to agent Robert Lasky, the agency conducted database reviews but was unable to track down the individual who made the threatening comment.

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."

[54] The response by Israel and other members of the Broward County Sheriff's Office to the numerous red flags and warnings about Cruz has been the subject of scrutiny.

[56] Israel refused to resign in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, saying during an interview with CNN, "I've given amazing leadership to this agency" while denying responsibility for the actions of his deputies.

[61] On February 14, 2018, Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, murdering 17 people[note 1] and injuring 17 others.

[71] Lead defense counsel Gordon Weekes asked Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to recuse herself, claiming that her previous comments and rulings showed favoritism toward the prosecution, which would prevent Cruz from receiving a fair trial.

[83] Cruz's trial, initially scheduled to begin on January 27, 2020, was originally delayed until mid-year to allow his lawyers more time to build their case.

[89] Judge Scherer stated she would hold a hearing on October 20, where Cruz planned to plead guilty to all counts relating to the shooting to avoid the death penalty.

Cruz made a statement after pleading guilty in which he expressed remorse for his crimes and asked the victims' families to decide his fate.

In the drawings, he blamed his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend for making him do the shooting, who Cruz claimed sexually humiliated him on Instagram prior to the attack.

[98] The defense presented the jurors evidence and testimony that Cruz suffered from brain damage and disabilities resulting from his birth mother smoking, drinking alcohol and using various illegal drugs during her pregnancy with him and failure by the state and the school and other sources to get him proper treatment.

[99][100][101][102][103][104] In a rebuttal, an expert witness for the prosecution testified that Cruz faked Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in a psychiatric evaluation and diagnosed him with both antisocial and borderline personality disorder.

[109] Other points of contention from the victims were the perceived improper conduct of Cruz's lawyers during the trial as well as the unanimity required by Florida law to impose the death penalty as opposed to a majority vote.

[111] In April 2023, DeSantis signed a bill allowing juries to recommend the death penalty in capital cases on an 8–4 vote, among other measures.