Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old who confessed to the deadly Florida school shooting, allegedly heard demonic voices telling him to carry out the rampage.
Cruz, the teenager accused in the fatal shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, allegedly told investigators that he heard voices in his head instructing him how to carry out the deadly attack, ABC News reports. Law enforcement described the voices as “demons.”
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Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
According to the Associated Press, the police report states Cruz admitted to the crime, saying he “began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds.”
Cruz entered the school, where was expelled in Spring 2017 for threatening students, just minutes before afternoon dismissal wielding an AR-15 rifle that he had legally purchased. He reportedly “brought additional loaded magazines to the school campus and kept them hidden in a backpack until he got on campus to begin his assault.”
Once students began to flee the building, Cruz admitted that he discarded his rifle and vest and blended into the crowd of students escaping. Video of Cruz being arrested by police was released on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Cruz lived with a student at the high school for the past three months, as his adoptive mother had passed away due to pneumonia in November. The family that housed him said they were aware Cruz owned the AR-15, but had never seen him use it and said it was a condition that he keep it in a locked gun safe.
Following the incident, Cruz’s neighbors stated that they were “not surprised that it was him,” with one neighbor, Brody Speno, describing Cruz as “Aggressive. Crazy. Weird. Psycho.” Several neighbors also described witnessing Cruz abusing animals by attempting to shoot them with pellet guns.
