Fla. shooting suspect appears in court but refuses to enter plea

The former student charged with killing 17 people at a Florida high school last month refused to announce a plea Wednesday, so a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill repeated that Nikolas Cruz would plead guilty if prosecutors waived the death penalty, which they refused to do.

Cruz is accused of the Feb. 14 massacre in Parkland that also wounded 17 others.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer entered the not guilty pleas on Cruz’s behalf in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom after he remained silent.