No Sense at All

Confessed Parkland shooter getting flood of fan mail, love letters

Sometimes you just want to shake your head and ask, “What the heck is wrong with people?”

It was just a month and a half ago that Nikolas Cruz went on a rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and gunned down 17 students and staff members. He wounded 17 more.

The 19-year-old has been in jail since then, charged with multiple counts of premeditated murder and attempted murder. The shooting spree set off shockwaves across the country and sparked a battle between gun-control advocates and those who see those efforts as an assault on the Second Amendment.

But the tragedy spurred something else as well. Something very disturbing.

Girls, older women and even some men have been sending Cruz fan mail, religious tracts, greeting cards—even love letters that include scantily clad photos and detailed romantic fantasies. They send money—hundreds of dollars—for his jail commissary account. They send encouragement and offers of help with his defense.

Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that in his 40 years of experience, he has never seen so many letters for a defendant.

The confessed killer, a loner and loser in life, now has a devoted fan base. It’s like he’s a rock star or popular actor. It’s sad. It’s sick. It makes you think there is something seriously wrong in this country.

Cruz hasn’t seen most of the stuff. He’s on suicide watch and cannot receive mail, though the staff sometimes read to him letters from those who express concern for his spiritual well-being and offer to pray for his soul.

Much of the other stuff is returned to sender. That’s OK, but in our view, jail officials should just throw it all where it belongs—in the garbage.