Nikolas Cruz Threatened Others With Gun, First Host Family Told Police

Long before Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at his former high school, the 19-year-old had “used a gun against people before” and “has put the gun to others’ heads in the past.”

According to records obtained by CNN, deputies interacted frequently with Cruz in the home where he lived for a few weeks in November months before the massacre, before he moved in with another family, the Sneads.

In November, Cruz’s mother died from pneumonia. Lynda Cruz was a widow raising her two adopted teenage boys by herself in Broward County. Without anyone to turn to after their mother’s death, Cruz and his younger brother Zachary were both taken in by Rocxanne Deschamps, a former neighbor who had been close to the family.

The boys moved into her mobile home in Palm Beach County, where according to records, Cruz continued to have the same explosive, violent outbursts he had as a young boy living at his mother’s home. But now, those around him say he had firearms.

When Cruz was at work at a Dollar Tree store the day after Thanksgiving, Deschamps’ son, Rock, 22, called 911 to report that an “adopted 19-year-old son” had possibly hidden a “gun in the backyard,” according to a dispatcher’s notes. Rock Deschamps told law enforcement “there were no weapons allowed in the household,” the report said. It’s unclear from the record whether sheriff’s deputies conducted a search. The incident was classified as “domestic unfounded,” which means a deputy didn’t find proof to back up the claims.

Four days later, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was called again to the home, when Rock said Cruz lashed out against the Deschamps family. The deputy found Cruz at a local park, where Cruz explained that he had misplaced a photo of his late mother and, emotionally distraught, punched the wall. He had lost control the same way several times in the past at his mother’s home in Parkland, Florida, when he had not taken his prescribed mood-altering medication, CNN reports.

When Rock interrupted Cruz, a fight broke out between them. After Cruz left, Deschamps called 911 and warned the dispatcher that Cruz said “he was going to get his gun and come back,” records show. She said Cruz had “bought a gun from Dick’s last week and is now going to pick it up.”

Deschamps told the dispatcher that Cruz had “bought tons of ammo” and “has used a gun against ppl before,” the notes said. “He has put the gun to others heads in the past.”

Rock and Cruz made up, with Rock agreeing not to press charges, and Cruz left the Deschamps’ home for good a short time later. His younger brother Zachary remained at the home, but Nikolas Cruz returned to Broward County olive with a friend, and stayed at the Pompano Beach home of James and Kimberly Snead. He took guns with him, the Sneads said.

Cruz has confessed to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. He is expected to plea guilty.