Teenager faces 17 counts of murder

UNITED STATES: Nikolas Cruz now formally faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder over the Valentine’s Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, prosecutors have announced.

After nearly two days of testimony, ranging from the Uber driver who drove Cruz to the school on February 14 to the medical examiner who did autopsies of the bodies of the 17 people who died, a Broward County grand jury yesterday voted to indict the

19-year-old.

Among the day’s witnesses were the Parkland family who gave a home to Cruz after his mother died in November.

Cruz confessed to arming himself with an AR-15 assault rifle and going on a shooting rampage at the Parkland school. He could face the death penalty, but prosecutors have not yet announced their intentions.

Until yesterday’s indictment was announced, authorities had said Cruz killed 17 and injured 16. But the indictment alleges that he tried to kill a 17th person.

Cruz’s defence team declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers bucked the National Rifle Association yesterday to pass new firearms regulations, in a rare act of Republican compromise on the divisive issue of gun violence.

After weeks of debate, the lawmakers approved a bill that would impose a three-day waiting period for most purchases of long guns and raise the minimum age for purchasing those weapons to

21. It also includes millions of dollars to improve school security and train and arm school employees.