Florida shooting: Suspect Nikolas Cruz 'confessed to killing students' police report claims - as it happened
Hundreds attend vigils for the 17 victims of the massacre
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The teenager accused of using an AR-15 rifle to kill 17 people at a Florida high school is said to have confessed to police that he was the one who carried out the shooting and carried extra ammunition in his backpack, according to a sheriff's department arrest report.
Nikolas Cruz told investigators that he shot students in the hallways and on the grounds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, north of Miami, the report from the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
The youngest of the victims in one of the deadliest school shootings in US history, was identified as 15-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff. Meanwhile Cruz appeared in court charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. More than a dozen other people were injured in the shooting. The judge ordered Cruz - who has not yet entered a plea - to be held without bail.
Follow the updates in our liveblog below.
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Police also laid out what they believe to be the timeline for the shooting, which is said to have started when the suspect was dropped off at the school at 2.19 pm local time [7.19pm GMT] by an Uber taxi. Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news conference that the suspect entered the east stairwell and pulled the AR-15 rifle out of a case, readying it and then beginning to shoot into classrooms. The suspect is then said to have shot into classrooms on multiple floors.
The suspect is then said to have dropped the rifle, a vest and his backpack before running back down the stairs. Police believe he discarded those items to join others who were fleeing and escape the grounds. Cruz was arrested about an hour later, having visited at least one fast food restaurant in the meantime.
In a televised address to the nation – his fourth following a mass shooting – President Donald Trump urged Americans to “respond to hate with love”.
“Later this month, I will be meeting with the nation’s governors and attorney generals, where making our schools and our children safer will be our top priority,” he said. “We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life, that creates deep and meaningful human connections and that turns classmates and colleagues into friends and neighbours.”
In his remarks to the nation, Mr Trump avoided the issue of gun control, which was the subject of a lot of talk from those in Congress throughout the day, but did say he planned to travel to Florida to meet with victims’ families.
Here is Florida's Republican senator, Marco Rubio, questioning if tougher gun regulations could have prevented the tragedy: "if someone's decided 'I'm going to commit this crime,' they'll find a way to get a gun to do it'".
Well over 400,000 people have liked or shared this tweet — purportedly from a student who survived the shooting — rebutting a conservative pundit who said it was too early to talk about gun control:
Mr Cruz's defense attorney, Melissa McNeil, offered a potential preview of her strategy after her client's initial court appearance:
“He’s a broken human being,” she said. “He’s a broken child.”
Here is a copy of Donald Trump's proclamation mourning the victims and ordering that flags be flown at half-staff around the country:
A lot of gun control advocates, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have been citing the figure that there have been 18 school shootings this year alone.
While there's no doubt school gun violence is real and recurring problem in America, that figure is a little problematic. Here, reporters with deep experience covering gun violence explain why:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/no-there-havent-been-18-school-shooting-in-2018-that-number-is-flat-wrong/2018/02/15/65b6cf72-1264-11e8-8ea1-c1d91fcec3fe_story.html?utm_term=.b12cb5dd03e7
Public defender Gordon Weekes, while speaking to reporters, was overcome with emotions as he talked about the victims killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“This is a loss for this community,” he said. “A tragic loss of 17 children.”
Mr Weekes, defending shooting suspect, Nikolas Cruz, stopped talking and stepped away from the cameras, keeping his head down.
President Trump has ordered all US flags to be flown at half-staff until Monday night following the shooting at a Florida high school, with the White House flags now having been set.
Lt. Grady Jordan, a spokesman for the Leon County Sheriff's Office in Tallahassee, said his office has “very solid” information on the white nationalist militia known as the Republic of Florida “there's no known ties that we have that we can connect” 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz with the group.
Mr Jordan said that his office has arrested militia leader Jordan Jereb, who had spoken to media about Cruz being a part of the group, at least four times since January 2014 and has been monitoring the group's membership.
At a news briefing, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel has said the suspect in a school shooting that killed 17 people stopped at fast food restaurants after the attack.
He said Nikolas Cruz tried to mix in with a group of students fleeing the school. The sheriff says he then headed to a Wal-Mart and bought a drink at a Subway restaurant before walking to a McDonald's.
Sheriff Israel said Cruz was confronted by a police officer and taken into custody about 40 minutes after leaving the McDonald's.
We know have a timeline for the shooting:
- At 2:19 p.m., an Uber dropped off the suspect.
- The suspect entered east stairwell and pulled rifle out of case.
- At 2:21 p.m., he readied his rifle and begin shooting into classrooms.
- He shot into rooms on a number of floors in the school
- He dropped rifle and backpack and ran down the stairs.
- he crossed fields and ran west along with others who were fleeing.
- The suspect arrived at Walmart, bought a drink at Subway and left Walmart on foot.
- He went to McDonald's and sat down at 3:01 p.m.
- At 3:41 p.m., he was detained in Coral Springs.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments