Florida school shooting: Nikolas Cruz officially charged with 17 counts of murder after Valentine's Day massacre

He could face the death penalty if found guilty
Cruz requested a Bible to read in his single-person cell
Reuters
Martin Coulter7 March 2018

The prime suspect in the Florida high school shooting has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Nikolas Cruz was also charged with 17 counts of attempted murder following the Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Cruz's public defender has said he will plead guilty if prosecutors take the death penalty off the table, which would likely lead to life imprisonment.

James and Kimberly Snead, the couple who gave Cruz a home after his mother died late last year, testified before the grand jury on Wednesday, telling investigators they were "trying to do the right thing".

A vigil held in memory of the 17 victims of the shooting
AFP/Getty Images

Cruz told officials he took an AR-15 rifle to the school and started shooting into classrooms.

Jail records released by the Broward Sheriff's Office show Cruz was being held in solitary confinement. Officers described Cruz as being cooperative but avoiding eye contact.

The report said Cruz "often sits with a blank stare," appeared to laugh and exhibited "awkward" behaviour during and after a visit with an attorney and had one "family visit."

Florida shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz's Instagram pictures

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Officers said Cruz also requested a Bible to read in his single-person cell in the infirmary.

Cruz, who was expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons, was described by former classmates as a troubled "outcast" who was obsessed with guns.

The FBI has been heavily criticised since revealing it received a tip-off in January that Cruz had a "desire to kill" and access to guns and could be plotting an attack, but agents failed to investigate. The governor called for the FBI director to resign.

In a statement, the agency acknowledged that the tip should have been shared with the FBI's Miami office and investigated, but it was not.

The admission came as the agency was already facing criticism for its treatment of a tip about a YouTube comment posted last year.

The comment posted by a "Nikolas Cruz" said: "I'm going to be a professional school shooter."

The FBI investigated the remark but did not determine who made it.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the shooting that killed 17 people on Wednesday was a "tragic consequence" of the FBI's missteps and ordered a review of the Justice Department's processes. He said it is now clear that the nation's premier law enforcement agency had missed warning signs.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said his office had received more than 20 calls about Cruz in the past few years.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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