Expelled teen’s deadly return
UNITED STATES: The suspect in a deadly shooting rampage at a Florida high school is a troubled teenager who posted disturbing material on social media before the spree that killed at least 17 people, according to a law enforcement official and former schoolmates.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Nikolas Cruz, 19, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for ‘‘disciplinary reasons’’, but ‘‘I don’t know the specifics’’.
However, Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, said Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
She said Cruz had been abusive to his girlfriend.
School officials said Cruz had been attending another school in Broward County since his expulsion.
Broward County Mayor Beam Furr said Cruz had received treatment at a mental health clinic for a while, but hadn’t been back to the clinic for more than a year.
‘‘It wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him,’’ Furr said. ‘‘We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected ... Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections . ... In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid.’’
Cruz opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at the school yesterday, sending hundreds of students fleeing into the streets in America’s deadliest school shooting since a gunman attacked an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.
The shooter, who was equipped with a gas mask and smoke grenades, set off a fire alarm to draw students out of classrooms shortly before the day ended at one of the state’s largest schools, officials said.
Fifteen people were wounded, including two who died later in hospital. Live television footage from the scene showed emergency workers treating the wounded on sidewalks.
‘‘It is a horrific situation,’’ said Robert Runcie, superintendent of the school district in Parkland, about an hour’s drive north of Miami. ‘‘It is a horrible day for us.’’
Cruz was taken into custody without a fight about an hour later in a residential neighbourhood less than two kilometres away. He had multiple magazines of ammunition, authorities said.
‘‘It’s catastrophic. There really are no words,’’ Israel said.
Israel said investigators were dissecting the suspect’s social media posts. ‘‘And some of the things that have come to mind are very, very disturbing,’’ he added, without elaborating.
Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled yesterday’s attack, said he recognised Cruz from an Instagram photo in which Cruz posed with a gun in front of his face.
Huerfano recalled Cruz as a shy student and remembered seeing him walking around with his lunch bag. ‘‘He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner.’’
Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but hadn’t seen him in more than a year, following his expulsion.
‘‘He started progressively getting a little more weird,’’ Mutchler said.
Mutchler recalled Cruz posting on Instagram about killing animals, and said he had talked about doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.
‘‘He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there,’’ Mutchler said.
‘‘I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do [a shooting spree], it was going to be him.’’
Runcie said he did not know of any threats posed by Cruz to the school. However, a teacher at the school said Cruz may have been identified as a potential threat to other students.
Jim Gard, a maths teacher who said Cruz had been in his class last year, said he believed the school had sent out an email warning teachers that Cruz should not be allowed on campus with a backpack.
‘‘There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus,’’ Gard said. –AP