Police: None of the Calls Received About Nikolas Cruz Appeared ‘Arrestable’

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office released details on 18 calls involving Parkland, Florida high school shooter Nikolas Cruz between 2008 and 2017, the sheriff said Friday, but none of the incidents were “arrestable under Florida law.”

Since 2008, sheriff’s deputies were called to the Cruz home 23 times, and 18 of those instances involved Cruz. Two of the calls are still under an internal investigation, the office said.

The first call to the Cruz home was on Nov. 8, 2008, when Cruz was 9 years old. They received a report of a boy throwing a rock at Cruz, and he responded by throwing another rock back. That case ended when the parents decided not to press charges.

Cruz’s mother, the late Lynda Cruz, frequently called deputies when her children were abusive towards her. On May 17, 2012, she called deputies because of a “disturbance” between Cruz and his younger brother, Zachary.

On Aug. 22, 2012, she called because they were both “cursing at her and being disrespectful.”

On Nov. 27, 2012, Lynda Cruz called police twice. First, she said Cruz “hit her with a plastic hose from the vacuum cleaner.” She called three hours later, saying she “had a dispute” with the then-14-year-old Cruz. At that time, she told deputies her son had ADHD. On the very next day, Lynda Cruz said her sons “left out of their bedroom window.” On this occasion, she told deputies Cruz had OCD as well.

Some of the previously reported incidents are listed in the sheriff’s report. On Feb. 18, the New York Post reported that Cruz was abusive towards his mother. On Jan. 22, 2013, Lynda Cruz called to report that her son “punched the wall because she took away his Xbox.

On Jan. 20, 2014, Lynda Cruz reported third-hand information on Cruz “having shot [a] chicken with possible BB gun.” After deputies responded, they found an “airsoft rifle.” Cruz said he shot the rifle, but did denied shooting chickens. The rifle was given to Lynda Cruz, “who locked it away.” The owner of the chicken did not press charges.

There were no calls in 2015, but calls resumed in 2016. In one troubling case, a peer counselor told the school resource deputy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that Cuz “alleged to have possibly ingested gasoline” the week before and attempted suicide by cutting himself.

“Cruz indicated he wished to purchase a gun for hunting and was in possession of items concerning hare related communications/symbols,” the report reads. “Mental health counselor advised Cruz did not meet criteria for Baker Act,” referring to the Florida law that allows for involuntary institutionalization.

According to the report, the high school “indicated it would conduct a threat assessment” on Cruz and it was believed Cruz suffered from depression.

The last call, which is now under investigation, came on Nov. 30, 2017. In this case, a caller told deputies Cruz was “collecting guns and knives. Cruz wants to join the Army. Concerned he will kill himself one day and believes he could be a school shooter in the making,” the report reads. “Caller advised Cruz was no longer living at the listed Parkland address and is now living in Lake Worth, Florida. [We] believe the weapons are kept at a friend’s house at an unknown location.”

A deputy called back the caller, who was located in Massachusetts. No report was “initiated.” The deputy said the call should be referred to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.

The report was released hours after Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel revealed that the armed deputy stationed at the school, Scot Peterson, never went in after it began. Peterson was first suspended without pay, but later resigned Thursday.

On Feb. 14, Cruz opened fire at Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 14 students and three teachers. Cruz confessed to the shooting and has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.