Judge Refuses Recusal Request in Parkland Shooting Case

A Florida judge has refused a request that she recuse herself from the case against confessed school shooter Nikolas Cruz.

Cruz's lawyers filed the request with Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer on claims that she has previously made comments and rulings that suggest she is biased toward prosecuting attorneys.

They further argue that, because of this, they feel that Cruz may not be given a fair trial.

According to court records, SF Gate reports, Judge Scherer disagreed with their point of view and denied their request.

As has been widely reported, on Valentine's Day, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and opened fire, killing 17 students and teachers. Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, one for each of the people he confessed to murdering.

It was recently revealed that Cruz took an Uber to commit the third largest school mass shooting in American history, and the driver who picked him up finally shared with reporters what he said to her.

"I saw him with a backpack which I thought was a guitar case," the unidentified driver told reporters. "He told me, 'I am going to my music class.'"

She later explained that when she heard the news of the shooting she was shocked. "I saw the news and I thought, 'Oh, I just left someone over there.' But I never knew it was the guy in my car," she said.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the driver continued to work and even dropped off a passenger at a funeral for one of the victims. "I made an Uber and I went to a funeral and I started to cry," she explained. "I don't know. I feel involved with all this tragedy."

Cruz's former ROTC leader also spoke out about the teen, saying he thought Cruz was odd but not dangerous.

Jack Ciaramello is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High where Cruz was kicked out of and returned to carry out the attack. Ciaramello is also a leader in the school's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Ciaramello explained that his interactions with Cruz left him feeling like the confessed gunman was somewhat troubled, but he says that he never imagined he was capable of carrying out a mass shooting.

According to The Daily Mail, Ciaramello was not at school during the time of the shooting but his younger brother was.