The family that Florida school shooter Nicolas Cruz was living with is speaking out for the first time about what they know about him.
James and Kimberly Snead gave a lengthy interview with the Sun Sentinel on Saturday about their time living with Cruz, what kind of person he is and what they were doing while the mass shooting occurred.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“We had this monster living under our roof and we didn’t know,” Kimberly said. “We didn’t see this side of him.”
“Everything everybody seems to know, we didn’t know,” James said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Scroll through to see some of the details they divulged about Cruz’s home life in the days leading up to the mass shooting.
Why They Took Him In
Cruz moved into the Snead household not long after Thanksgiving. Cruz was apparently friends with the Sneads’ son, who asked his parents if he could stay with them.
The now-criminal’s mother died on Nov. 1, leaving him without parents. He was staying with a family friend, but Cruz wanted out over alleged disputes over his money and gun ownership.
The Sneads wanted to help him out and obliged. They laid down some ground rules, to which Cruz agreed to follow.
“I told him there’d be rules, and he followed every rule to the T,” James said.
Gun Rules
One of those rules involved Cruz’s gun collection.
They had Cruz buy a gun safe to keep his hunting weapons in. His arsenal included knives, pellet guns, BB guns, two assault rifles and an AR-15. The AR-15 would end up being the weapon Cruz used to kill 17 people and injure 15 others at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The couple told Cruz he had to ask permission to use the guns, as they kept the key to the cabinet. He only asked for the guns twice since November. However, they assume that Cruz had a second key hidden from them to access the safe at other times.
The Sneads also clarified they also had guns at the home, but they were locked in a separate safe.
Naïveté / Depression
In the Sun Sentinel interview, the Sneads paint the picture of Cruz as naive and depressed.
They noticed that he was just not knowledgeable about some basic life tasks. He could not do laundry, drive or cook. He did not even know to use a microwave.
The couple also clearly saw that Cruz was depressed about his mother’s death. Kimberly took him a therapist’s office to get information about possibly receiving treatment. He took a business card and said he would see what costs his health insurance would cover.
Inheritence
One interesting aspect of Cruz’s life situation is that he was allegedly set to be financially stable.
He claimed to be in line for an $800,000 inheritance once he reached the age of 22. The Sneads said they saw paperwork that appeared to corroborate this claim.
As previously noted, he had a previous money dispute with the family friend he was staying with after his mother’s death. He accused the woman of stealing several thousand dollars from him. However, the Sneads believe Cruz was the victim of identity theft at the hands of an unrelated party.
The Night Before
The Sneads say the night before the fatal shooting was just like any other. At dinner, he made a peculiar concoction. He put a chocolate chip cookie on a steak and cheese sandwich.
He then went to bed at his usual time, 8 p.m. The couple insists they saw no sign of what was to come.
Morning of the Shooting
Cruz’s morning routine was a bit altered on the day of the shooting, but the couple did not think much of it.
He told them he did not need a ride to the adult education program he was enrolled in and typically went to.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, and I don’t go to school on Valentine’s Day,” Cruz told them.
Kimberly saw him at 10 that morning, and he told her he was going fishing. He was gone when she returned that afternoon. Kimberly then napped to prepare for a night shift she was working that evening.
Texts
Cruz apparently texted the Sneads’ son several times throughout the day.
As Cruz was head to the school via an Uber, he texted his friend asking what classroom he was in. He also said he was going to a movie.
Cruz then said he had “something important” to tell the Sneads’ son. When the boy replied Cruz simply wrote back “Nothing man.”
As Cruz arrived at the school, he texted the boy one final time, telling him “Yo.”
Arrest
Cruz was quickly identified at the scene, and police quickly got in contact with James about “his son,” not knowing that Cruz was not related to the family. James did not know where Cruz was. However, he realized he might be at home with Kimberly.
“I need a police presence at my house,” James said. “Go make sure my wife is OK.”
Police soon arrived at the Snead family home, banged on the door with guns drawn and asked where Cruz was. They began searching the home, but another unit arrested him elsewhere.
Last Words
The Sneads were taken to the Sheriff’s station to meet up with their son, who was being questioned by authorities. Their son apparently was cleared of any wrongdoing.
They happened to be in the station as Cruz arrived in custody. As James held Kimberly from running at him, she screamed “Really, Nik? Really?”. He apparently replied with apologies.
“He said he was sorry. He apologized. He looked lost, absolutely lost,” James said. “And that was the last time we saw him.”
