School shooter's past includes buying guns, cutting, slurs and mental illness [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

School shooter's past includes buying guns, cutting, slurs and mental illness

Global February 20, 2018

(CNN)As investigators track the gun purchases of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, dozens of students and staff from the site of the massacre will board buses late Tuesday, bound for the state capital.

In Tallahassee, they hope to talk to legislators about school safety and gun control on Wednesday, determined to ensure that the deaths of their 17 classmates and teachers last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland bring about change.

School walkouts and a march are scheduled in the coming weeks, and a CNN town hall with victims' classmates, parents and the community is set for Wednesday in Sunrise, Florida.

"They can change the world, and we can only go with them," Darren Levine, a Stoneman Douglas High teacher, said of the school's students at an anti-violence rally in Delray Beach, Florida -- one of at least three across the country on Monday.

Hours earlier Monday, Cruz made a brief appearance in court for a procedural matter.

A law enforcement source briefed on the investigation told CNN that Cruz had obtained at least 10 firearms, all of them rifles. Investigators are trying to track the purchases, which Cruz appears to have made in the past year or so, the source said.

Cruz bought two weapons from Gun World of South Florida in Deerfield Beach, said Kim Waltuch, the store's CEO. She would not provide details on the types of guns he purchased or on the time frame, but said the sales followed normal protocol for Florida firearms purchases.

Meanwhile, one of Cruz's victims, Anthony Borges, 15, continued his recovery. He's one of four patients who remain hospitalized after Wednesday's massacre in Parkland. He was shot five times, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

On Sunday, the teen remained in a bed, his face swollen and his body tethered to IV and oxygen tubes.

"Fortunately, he is recovering -- but has a long road ahead with more surgeries needed," according to a Broward County Sheriff's Office Facebook post.

Anthony helped protect his classmates, closing and locking a door to a classroom, according to a verified GoFundMe account that, as of late Monday morning, had raised more than $275,000 late Monday. As Anthony blocked the door, Cruz fired through it, hitting Anthony in the back and in both legs, shattering his thigh bone, according to the account's description.

These are the victims of the Florida school shooting

Latest developments

Rallies against gun violence in Florida, California and Washington, D.C.: The names of victims were read out loud at a rally in Delray Beach. In Los Angeles, protesters, including many young children gathered in Pershing Park, chanted "throw them out," referring to politicians who support the National Rifle Association. "Apparently when a school shooting happens, it's just another day in America and nobody cares," said Sophie Peterson, a student. "Students and teachers are dying and that is not OK." In Washington, teen demonstrators lay on the ground in front of the White House in solidarity with the 17 victims. Others carried flags and posters.

Details on shooter's behavior: A 2016 Florida Department of Children and Families report says that after a breakup with a girlfriend, Cruz began cutting his arms. He also announced plans to buy a gun, put racial slurs and hate symbols on his backpack and suffered from depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, the report said. Despite Cruz's behavior, the report concluded the "final level of risk is low."

Cubs star speaks out: Marjory Stoneman Douglas alum and Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said during a news conference that he had visited kids in the hospital after the shooting. He also issued a call for change, saying, "No one right now feels comfortable on a daily basis sending their kid to school not knowing if they're going to see them again."

Host family saw no clues: Kim and James Snead, who took in Cruz after his adoptive mother died in November, tell ABC's "Good Morning America" that Cruz was polite and "seemed normal." Despite reports of what authorities say was a disturbing social media footprint, James Snead said, "We knew he had one Instagram account. ... The other ones he had, we had no idea about."

Funerals scheduled for this week: Among those being laid to rest this week are Alaina Petty, 14, and Luke Hoyer, 15, whose services were held Monday morning, and Cara Loughran, 14, whose service is Tuesday. Cara's aunt, Lindsay Fontana, said on Facebook the day after the shooting that her niece was an "excellent student" who loved the beach. Alaina's family described her as a "vibrant and determined young woman" who volunteered in cleanup and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Irma.

Remembering the victims: Vigils were held Monday for the Parkland shooting victims in nearby Miramar and Coral Springs, Florida.

Alleged school threats elsewhere: A 14-year-old Norfolk, Virginia, middle school student was the latest person to be arrested Monday for threatening to harm classmates, according to Norfolk police. The student faces a felony charge and is accused of making threats of death or bodily injury to a person or persons on school property, police said. Since the massacre in Parkland, there have been at least a dozen reports of other incidents involving a threat to a school or a weapon on campus throughout the country. In some of these events, the schools have closed or gone into lockdown.

Students mobilize

The vicious cycle of school shootings

The vicious cycle of school shootings 03:16

In the aftermath of the shooting, many students who survived the bloodshed say they can no longer endure inaction on the issue of gun control. Just days after surviving the ninth-deadliest shooting in modern US history, several students have given powerful speeches and compelling TV interviews, voicing their desire to break the loop of massacres.

Some have gone on social media, vocal about what they experienced and what action they want to see from those in power. They're demanding that state and federal lawmakers step up and do something.

They're also coming for the NRA and any politician who takes money from the powerful gun lobby. The NRA did not return CNN's call seeking comment.

"My message for the people in office is: You're either with us or against us. We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around," said junior Cameron Kasky, announcing a March 24 demonstration in Washington.

They plan to converge at the nation's capital next month and have asked supporters who can't make it to stage marches in their own communities, according to a mission statement for March For Our Lives.

parkland florida students anti gun rally demand action orig mg_00000618

Parkland students demand action on guns 01:28

How to help victims of the Florida school shooting

Marjory Stoneman Douglas remains closed through Wednesday, and officials said they hope to reopen the doors by week's end. It's not clear when students will return.

The school district has also proposed tearing down the building where the shooting happened, Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said.

Student tells why she went off at rally

Student tells why she went off at rally 01:06

Trump tweet angers students

Time to rethink how mass shootings are covered?

Time to rethink how mass shootings are covered? 08:20

Students who survived the shooting laid into President Donald Trump after he seemed to blame the FBI's failure to follow up on a report about the school shooter on the agency's attention and resources on the Russia investigation.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted, "Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!"

The President's tweet caused considerable outrage online, including among apparent survivors of the shooting. One wrote: "Oh my god. 17 OF MY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS ARE GONE AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO MAKE THIS ABOUT RUSSIA???!! HAVE A DAMN HEART. You can keep all of your fake and meaningless 'thoughts and prayers'."

As the investigation continues, a review has been ordered by Attorney General Jeff Sessions into how a tip to the FBI about Cruz was missed and how the agency responds to indications of potential violence.

Family members wait for word from students beneath an underpass just south of the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.