READY FOR THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Angelina Lazo cries during a pep rally Tuesday at the Parkland Equestrian Center. The event was in preparation for the sendoff to Washington, D.C. for hundreds of Parkland students, their parents and friends for Saturday’s March for Our Lives.
The woman who took in Nikolas Cruz after his mother’s death broke her silence Tuesday, describing the future Parkland school shooter as a troubled young man who once put a gun to his mother’s head, displayed a deep attachment to military-style guns and engaged in behavior so frightening that her family called 911 three times.
Rocxanne Deschamps spoke at a news conference in New York with her lawyer, Gloria Allred, marking the first time she publicly discussed what was happening at her home near Lantana when Nikolas and his brother Zachary lived with her and her family.
She said she called the police, forbade Cruz to have guns in her house and “begged” him to see a doctor for the depression he fell into after his mother’s death.
“I did everything I could to warn law enforcement about what could happen,” she said, reading from a written statement and dabbing her eyes. “I wanted to protect not only my own children, but also anyone else who might be at risk of being harmed. I also wanted to protect Nikolas from himself. Unfortunately, although I did everything I could, I was not able to stop this tragedy from taking place.”
As a family neighbor, she said, she became friends with his mother, Lynda, and took Nikolas and his brother Zachary bowling, to play arcade games and to a water park. During a 2016 stay at their home, she said, she learned of Cruz’s fascination with firearms.
“While I was there I saw guns on the floor in the closet of Nikolas’ room,” she said. “The guns that I observed were not hunting guns. They looked like army guns. I saw at least five of them. The guns looked like assault weapons. They were very large. I also saw a large box of bullets. I saw Nikolas playing with and cleaning the guns.”
In 2016, Deschamps said, she promised his mother she would take care of her sons if anything happened. Then late last year, his mother got pneumonia and entered a hospital.
“The next day, the nurse called me and asked me to come and get Lynda’s boys,” she said. “Lynda didn’t have much longer to live, so I immediately rushed to the hospital and spoke to Lynda and told her that I would keep my word and take care of her sons.
“The boys were there and able to say their goodbyes to their mother and they were all crying. Within five minutes, Lynda passed away.”
When he, his brother and their dogs moved in with her family in the Lantana Cascade mobile home community, she told Nikolas he could not bring his guns.
Nikolas Cruz stayed with her for less than a month after his mother’s death, but during that time, she said she and her family members were forced to call 911 three times. Her son called after her mother, who was living with her, found a receipt for a gun Cruz bought from Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“When the police came we told them about the purchase of the gun and that we were very concerned,” she said. “I asked them if we could stop him from getting the gun that he purchased. They said they couldn’t stop him from buying or having possession of a gun. I told them that Nicholas was 19 years old but I felt that mentally and emotionally he was similar to a 12-year-old.”
The second call was made after she said her mother discovered Cruz digging a hole in the backyard, with an empty gun box nearby that was the size of the hole.
“The police said that anyone was allowed to bury a gun and that Nikolas was allowed to do that,” she said. “I was surprised because I thought that guns had to be locked away.”
She made another call after her son caught Nikolas Cruz punching holes in her walls and then got punched by Nikolas.
“I told the officers that I was concerned that Nikolas would come back with a gun,” she said. “I told the police about prior incidents that I knew of in which Nikolas had put a gun to his mother’s head and to his brother’s head.
“I also told them about other warning signs. I was very concerned that the gun, which he had purchased, might be brought into my house or that he might get the gun and use it to harm himself or others. Law enforcement said that nothing could be done.”
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Broward Sheriff ’s Office, have come under fire for fumbling warnings about Cruz.
Teri Barbara, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office, declined to address Deschamps’ statements about the police response beyond forwarding copies of the reports and 911 calls.
At a news conference three weeks ago, after the 911 calls came to light, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the calls had been handled properly.
“We did look at the fact we had some contact with Mr. Cruz on some prior incidents — none of which had any indications of the fact that he was going to be engaged in what he did,” Bradshaw said. “They were merely what we call ordinary domestic disturbances.”
After the last incident, Deschamps she told Cruz he could choose to stay with her or to keep his gun — but not both, she said.
“He chose the gun,” she said.
After he left the house and moved in with another family, she stayed in touch with him. “The day before the shooting, Nikolas texted,” she said. “He was worried about the dogs.”
Cruz has admitted killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14.
His brother, Zachary Cruz, was arrested Monday on the charge of trespassing at the school, and prosecutors on Tuesday argued he was a threat to the community.
Zachary was ordered held on $500,000 bond.
Deschamps said someone in Cruz’s mental condition should never have been allowed to buy guns, and that she supported the March for Our Lives events this weekend to press for tougher gun laws.
“I am so glad that the young people in Parkland and across the country are marching this weekend in support of changes in gun laws to help protect children at school so they can be safe,” she said. “I am a parent and I support them, and I’m very proud of them.”