Gunman’s brother held for trespassing at school

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A judge set an unusually high $500,000 bond on Tuesday and imposed other restrictions for the brother of the Florida school shooting suspect who was charged with trespassing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

A prosecutor said that Zachary Cruz, 18, expressed admiration for his brother Nikolas Cruz’s fame since the Feb. 14 shooting and that they had discussed whether it might attract girls and pen pals.

Prosecutors said it was the third time he had visited the campus, even though he was warned to stay away.

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Zachary Cruz on Monday afternoon, saying he rode his skateboard onto the campus to “reflect on the school shooting and soak it all in.” He is in the same Fort Lauderdale jail where Nikolas Cruz is housed.

A judge ordered Zachary Cruz to wear an ankle Zachary Cruz is being held on $500,000 bond after tresapassing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A prosecutor said that the 18-year-old expressed admiration for his brother’s fame since the Feb. 14 shooting.

monitor and stay away from schools if he is released. The judge also ordered a search for weapons and ammunition at the Palm Beach County home where he is living with a family friend, and he is not to visit his

brother in jail.

Zachary and Nikolas shared the same biological mother but had different fathers. Both were adopted at very young ages by Roger and Lynda Cruz. Lynda Cruz died in November, and

their father died some years earlier.

Zachary Cruz has been living with a family friend, Rocxanne Deschamps, since their mother’s death.

At a news conference Tuesday, Deschamps described being neighbors with the Cruz family in Parkland, Florida, and how her son played with the two boys, whom she often cared for and took on outings. In October 2016, she saw a number of guns in Nikolas Cruz’s room and became concerned about him and the weapons.

“I explained to Nikolas that I was concerned about my young child (5-yearold son), and I could not have him be around loaded guns or any weapons where bullets could be placed in guns,” she said in her first public comments since the shooting.

Just before Lynda Cruz died suddenly last November of pneumonia, Deschamps promised to take care of the boys. She knew Nikolas Cruz had mental issues and obsessions with weapons, and implored him to get help and take medication but he refused. Her calls to police about his behavior resulted in no action.

He moved in with another family when Deschamps said she told him to choose between his guns and her home.