Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to murdering 17 in Parkland school shooting

Nikolas Cruz on Wednesday pleaded guilty to murdering 17 in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. The 23-year-old also pleaded guilty to 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder for those he injured in the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 

Cruz is now facing the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison. His attorneys had announced last week his intention to plead guilty. 

Cruz was 19 when he killed 14 students and three employees with an AR-15 rifle on February 14 at his former school, wounding 17 others.  

The hearing on Wednesday was attended by dozens of family members of victims, wherein Cruz entered his pleas after answering a long list of questions from Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer aimed at confirming his mental competency.

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A penalty trial will determine if Cruz will receive a sentence of death or life in prison without parole. Scherer plans to begin screening jurors next month in hopes testimony can begin in January. 

As several parents shook their heads, Cruz apologized, saying, “I’m very sorry for what I did. … I can’t live with myself sometimes.” He also added that he wished it was up to the survivors to determine whether he lived or died. 

Several parents and other relatives of victims broke down in tears while listening to the court proceedings via a Zoom call.

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime died in the shooting, said he visited her grave this week to ask her for the strength to get through Wednesday’s hearing. 

“She was the toughest, wisest person I ever knew,” he said. “My daughter always fought for what was right. s daughter despised bullies and would put herself in the middle of someone being bullied to make it stop.”

The guilty pleas will set the stage for a penalty trial in which 12 jurors will determine whether Cruz should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. Given the case’s notoriety, Scherer plans to screen thousands of prospective jurors. Hearings are scheduled throughout November and December, with a goal to start testimony in January.

(With inputs from Associated Press)