Parkland suspect revealed murder plot in videos

MIAMI — Nikolas Cruz reached for his cellphone before his rifle.

Shortly before allegedly killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, Cruz recorded three cellphone videos discussing his plan to murder students and staff.

“With the power of my AR15 you will all know who I am,” Cruz said on one video.

Prosecutors released the videos Wednesday afternoon as they prepare for a possible death penalty trial. The videos may shed light on what motivated Cruz to allegedly commit Florida's worst school shooting, which has launched a powerful nationwide movement for gun control.

Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student who seems to have meticulously planned his attack, expressed anger at his old classmates, saying they thought he was an “idiot and a dumb a--” when in fact it was they who had been “brainwashed by these f---ing political government programs.” And he declared his love for a girl he identified only by her first name, saying he hoped to see her “in the afterlife.”

The videos will almost certainly bolster the prosecution's efforts to convict Cruz of firstdegree murder, a capital offense: Under Florida law, firstdegree murder charges must be premeditated.

On another video, wearing a green T-shirt and dark baseball cap, the former student at the Parkland high school looks into the camera.

“Hello. My name is Nik and I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018,” Cruz, 19, says calmly. “My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15 . ... Location is Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida.”

“It's going to be a big event,” he added. “And when you see me on the news, you'll know who I am.” Then Cruz laughed. “You're all going to die,” he continues, making gunshot sounds. “Can't wait.”

Cruz's alleged massacre killed 14 students and three educators and left another 17 people wounded. He faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder. His public defender has said Cruz would plead guilty in hopes of avoiding the death penalty.

The recordings were released by the Broward State Attorney's Office Wednesday in response to a defense request for discovery, which is when the state turns over all the potential evidence against a defendant. In Florida, many elements of discovery are considered a public record.

Authorities did not say when exactly the videos were made, although Cruz suggests in one that he would carry out the attack later the same day. His cellphone was confiscated as evidence after the attack.