Judge Elizabeth Scherer scheduled Nikolas Cruz’s sentencing on November 1 after a Florida jury recommended that the 24-year-old be given a life sentence without the chance of parole for the Parkland school shooting.

At 9:00 ET, the hearing will begin.

Cruz was charged with murder in connection with the February 2018 shooting at Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which resulted in the deaths of 17, including 14 students and three school personnel. He had admitted guilt.

Also Read: ‘Will not wait for next mass shooting’: Joe Biden urges Congress for gun reform

Who is Nikolas Cruz?

Roger and Lynda Cruz adopted Nikolas at a young age, however, his father died sometime after the adoption while Nikolas Cruz’s mother passed away in 2017, according to US media reports citing family and friends of the 23-year-old in addition to court documents.

Cruz was later taken in by the parents of a schoolmate, where he continued to live up until the incident, according to reports from CNN quoting the legal representation of the family.

In an interview with CNN, people close to Cruz said he was severely impacted by the demise of his mother, which eventually resulted in his expulsion from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where the shootout happened.

Also Read: Gun violence rises amid pandemic in US, kills more teens and toddlers

After killing multiple people in February 2018 at his former school, Cruz reportedly managed to flee the crime scene by blending in with students who scrambled to leave the campus. According to media reports citing authorities, Cruz also visited a retail store and a fast food outlet before being detained by law enforcement.

The shootings caused some Stoneman Douglas students to launch the March for Our Lives movement, which pushes for stronger gun restrictions nationally.

Also Read: John T. Earnest sentenced to life imprisonment for 2019 synagogue shooting

Cruz often introduced himself as a “school shooter“, according to an unnamed former classmate, who described Cruz as “very, very strange”. The classmate said, “Like if there was someone to shoot up a school, it would be him.”

The guilty pleas will set the stage for a penalty trial in which 12 jurors will determine whether Cruz, 23, should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole, according to reports from Associated Press.