INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authorities have not explained why they believe Nikolas Cruz carried out the shooting
(File)
The videos are grim warnings of what was to come.In recordings released Wednesday, the 19-year-old
who would later be charged with killing 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, declared with chilling certainty what would happen
He announced plans to become a school shooter, detailed how many people he hoped to murder and gloated about the infamy he would gain from
such a massacre."When you see me on the news, you'll all know who I am," he says before laughing
"You're all going to die!" The three recordings are brief, but they offer a macabre glimpse of Nikolas Cruz, who was arrested not long after
14 shooting and could face the death penalty
One of the videos appeared to have been filmed the day of the rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Authorities have not explained
why they believe the 19-year-old carried out the shooting
His guilt has not been questioned
Police said he confessed, while his attorneys readily admit he was the gunman
Yet even as it emerged that he was a troubled young man with a pattern of disturbing behavior and alleged violence, what motivated the
rampage remains unanswered.Local and federal authorities were warned repeatedly about his potential for violence, including specific
warnings to both the FBI and local police that he could be a potential school shooter
Yet it appears the warnings all went unheeded, and Cruz was able to march into the school on Valentine's Day and open fire, killing 17
students and staff and wounding 17 others.The videos suggest that Cruz had thought about what he would do, and the brief glimpses of what he
said drove him carried unnerving echoes of previous mass killers.Experts who research mass shootings have identified similar characteristics
recurring among the shooters, including a sense of persecution, flashes of anger and a desire for notoriety through such violence
Some have complained about their lives, while others have detailed how many people they hope to kill
All of these traits are on display in the brief clips released Wednesday.The first video begins with the 19-year-old, wearing headphones and
a baseball cap, looking into the phone's camera and introducing himself."My name's Nik," he says
"And I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018."He went on to say his "goal is at least 20 people, with an AR-15 and a couple tracer
rounds," before identifying his target as Stoneman Douglas, a school in an idyllic South Florida suburb
After announcing that people would die, he then made cartoonish noises of a gun firing: "Pew pew pew pew! Can't wait." Many Twitter users
shared the video expressing shock. In another video, he says: "Today is the day
The day of my massacre shall begin." During a third video, with the camera pointed away, Cruz complains about how his life is "meaningless"
and isolated and said he is angry at being called stupid."I hate everyone and everything," he is heard saying
"But the power of my AR you will all know who I am
I had enough of being told what to do and when to do."He also shared a message with a female person who is not fully identified, saying: "I
hope to see you in the afterlife."In his boasts about becoming famous, the 19-year-old touches on something that concerns survivors of
shootings and their relatives alike
Some have called for news organizations to limit their coverage of mass killers to take away something those attackers describe as a draw
Survivors of the Parkland attack made a similar argument Wednesday, pleading for attention to be paid to the victims rather than their
attacker.Prosecutors in Broward County, Florida, have said they will seek a death sentence for Cruz
A representative for Michael Satz, the Broward state attorney, did not respond to a request for further comment about the videos
Wednesday.Howard Finkelstein, the Broward public defender, has said it would be wrong for the state to execute Cruz after so many red flags
were missed, and he has offered prosecutors to have Cruz plead guilty and avoid a trial if prosecutors agree not to pursue a death
sentence.Finkelstein said in a statement Wednesday that his team limited their discovery request in the case "so that videos like this and
worse would not go public and further hurt and inflame the victims families and the community." He added: "We continue to stand ready to
plead guilty to 34 consecutive life sentences without parole."
