Parkland high school shooter Nikolas Cruz faces possible death sentence as penalty trial begins

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Four years after Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others, jurors are set to hear arguments over what punishment he should receive.

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Cruz, 23, could face the death penalty or be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In October, he pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 attack.

In his opening statement, lead prosecutor Michael Satz described in detail the events of Feb. 14, 2018, which he called “goal-directed, planned, systematic murder – mass murder.” He argued that Cruz planned out the shooting, calling it “cold, calculating, manipulative and deadly” and pointing to a cellphone video he said Cruz had made days before the attack, in which Cruz announced his intent to shoot at least 20 people at a school.

Prosecutors said that Cruz ultimately fired more than 130 shots on three floors of a building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a school he had attended from August 2015 to February 2017. After the shooting, official said he blended in with people who were evacuating and walked to a Subway restaurant inside a Walmart, where he bought and drank an ICEE. Satz said Cruz then walked to a nearby McDonald’s, where he asked a boy inside for a ride. The boy’s sister had been among the dozens of people shot by Cruz, though at the time the boy hadn’t yet learned of the shooting, the prosecutor said.

The boy declined to give Cruz a ride. Authorities later arrested Cruz as he was walking in the area.

On Monday, Satz laid out the grisly evidence jurors will see, including surveillance videos that depict a majority of the killings. He said that cameras were activated by motion sensors, but views were partially obstructed by dust that fell from the ceiling tiles due to the percussion of the rifle blast.

“But most of it is there,” he said, “and you will see it.”

Defense attorneys on Monday reserved their opening statement for after prosecutors lay out their entire case for jurors. The trial, which will focus only on the penalty Cruz will face, is expected to last four months, according to The Associated Press.

Cruz was 19 years old when he brought an AR-15 rifle into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and began shooting in the school’s hallways. The six-minute attack is the deadliest mass shooting to make its way to a jury.

In October, Cruz apologized to the victims of the shooing, saying that he believed they should determine whether he serve a life sentence or be put to death.

“I just want you to know I’m really sorry, and I hope you give me a chance to try to help others,” he said. “I believe it’s your decision to decide where I go and whether I live or die – not the jury’s, I believe it’s your decision. I’m sorry.”

Authorities identified the 17 people killed in the shooting as Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Martin Duque, 14; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Alaina Petty, 14; Alex Schachter, 14; Luke Hoyer, 15; Peter Wang, 15; Carmen Schentrup, 16; Nick Dworet, 17; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Helena Ramsay, 17; Meadow Pollack, 18; Scott Beigel, 35; Aaron Feis, 37; and Christopher Hixon, 49.

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