Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was the scene of school shootings on February 14, 2018. Seventeen people - fourteen students and three staff members - were fatally shot and seventeen others wounded, which made the shooting one of the most deadly slaughter schools in the United States. The witnesses identified nineteen Nikolas Cruz as an attacker, and he was arrested by the Broward County Sheriff's Office shortly after he escaped from the scene. Cruz claimed to be the perpetrator, and he was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Police and prosecutors have not offered a motive yet and are investigating "patterns of disciplinary problems and terrible behavior".
The sheriff's office received some tips in 2016 and 2017 about Cruz's threat to shoot at school. The FBI noticed that a YouTube user with the username "nikolas cruz" posted a message in September 2017 about being a school shooter, but the agency could not identify users. In January 2018, someone contacted the FBI tip line with a direct complaint that Cruz had made a death threat, but the complaint was not forwarded to the local FBI office.
After the shootings, several students of Stoneman Douglas campaigned for gun control legislation and founded the advocacy group Never Again MSD. On March 9 , Governor Rick Scott signs a bill that raises the minimum age to buy a rifle in Florida from 18 to 21. The law also sets a waiting period and a background check for weapon buyers. The law also allows for arming well-trained teachers and employing school police. Stock piles will now be banned and some potentially violent or mentally unstable people will be banned from possessing weapons. The National Rifle Association (NRA) immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the federal constitutionality of the age requirement clause.
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The shooting occurred in the afternoon February 14 , 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a prosperous suburb about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale. The shooter, a former student of Nikolas Cruz, was dropped off at school by a Uber driver at 2:19, which was not long before the time of stopping. Carrying a backpack and a backpack, he was seen and recognized by a staff member who sent a colleague to the radio that he was walking "deliberately" toward Building 12, according to police reports.
Cruz enters Building 12, a three-story structure containing 30 classrooms that are usually occupied by around 900 students and 30 teachers. Armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and several magazines, he activated the fire alarm and started shooting indiscriminately on students and teachers. Fire alarms cause confusion because there was earlier fire drills in the morning.
At about 2:21, the same staff member hears a gunshot and activates the red code lock. An armed school resource officer from the Broward County Sheriff Office was on campus when the shooting broke and took up positions between two other buildings next to Building 12.
The shooting lasted six minutes, after Cruz dropped his rifle on the 3rd floor of the building and left the scene by mingling with the students who fled. He walked to Walmart, where he bought soda at his Subway restaurant. He then walked into McDonald's and lingered before leaving on foot at 3:01. At around 3:40 pm, he was stopped by police in a Wyndham Lakes neighborhood in Coral Springs, 2 miles (3.2 km) from school, and was arrested without incident. He was taken to the hospital emergency room with "breathing driven". After 40 minutes, he was released back into police custody and sent to Broward County Prison.
School surveillance camera video reveals Cruz as the culprit, and he is also recognized by eyewitnesses. While SWAT paramedics are inside the building, additional paramedics from the local Fire Department are repeatedly asked to enter the building. This request was rejected by the Broward Sheriff's Office, even after the suspect was arrested.
Maps Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
Victim
Seventeen people were killed and seventeen people wounded but survived their gunshot wounds. Three remained in critical condition the day after the shootings and one remained on the second day.
Fourteen students and three staff members killed were:
Geography teacher Scott Beigel was killed after he opened the classroom for students to enter and hide from the gunman. Aaron Feis, assistant football coach and security guard, was killed as he protects two students. Chris Hixon, the school's athletic director, was killed when he ran toward gunshots and tried to help the students escape.
Student Peter Wang was last seen in the Junior Coaching Training Corps (JROTC) uniform, holding the door for others to get out faster. He sacrifices his life for others and is called a hero. A White House petition was circulated, calling him to be buried with full military honor. At each funeral, Wang, Alaina Petty, and Martin Duque are all posthumously honored by the US Army with ROTC Medal for Heroism, and Wang is buried in her JROTC Blues uniform. On February 20 , she was given a rare posthumous acknowledgment to the United States Military Academy.
Victim Alyssa Alhadeff is the captain of the local football team at Parkland. On March 7 , 2018 - nearly three weeks after the shootings - he was honored by the national women's football team of the United States before the game in Orlando. His teammates and family were invited to the game and presented with an official T-shirt featuring the name Alhadeff.
Meadow Pollack is a senior who was shot four times during filming. When Cruz went into another classroom, she crawled to the door of the classroom but could not get inside. Loughran's way of being next to Pollack, and Pollack covering Loughran in an effort to protect him from bullets. Cruz returns to class and places Pollack and Loughran. He finished his weapon five more times, killing Pollack and Loughran.
The last survivor hospitalized, 15 years Anthony Borges, released on April 4 . Nicknamed the "real Iron Man", Borges was shot five times after he used his body to blockade the door of the classroom where twenty students were inside. After his release, Borges issued a statement criticizing the actions of Broward Sheriff's deputy Sheriff Scott Israel and School Inspector Robert Runcie. His family has filed notice of his intention to sue the school district for personal injury to cover costs associated with his recovery.
Suspect
The gunner was identified by the police as Nikolas Jacob Cruz , a former 19-year-old student who had been expelled from school. She was born in South Florida and was adopted at birth by Lynda and Roger Cruz. Roger died at the age of 67 in 2004. Lynda died at the age of 68 in November 2017, three months before the shooting. She has lived with relatives and friends since her death. At the time of the shooting, he enrolled in the GED program and was hired at a local dollar store.
Cruz is a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and has received several awards "including academic achievements to maintain A grades in JROTC and Bs in other subjects," according to CNN. He is also a member of his university's air rifle team.
Cruz has behavioral problems since high school, but a Washington Post writer says he's "rooted in the process of getting student assistance rather than referring them to law enforcement" and he was moved between schools six times in three years to address the problem this. By 2014, she is transferred to school for children with emotional or learning disabilities. There are reports that he made threats against other students. He returned to Stoneman Douglas High School two years later, only to be expelled from school in 2017 for disciplinary reasons. An email from the school administration has been circulating among teachers, warning that he has made threats against other students. This caused the school to ban him wearing backpacks on campus.
Psychiatrists recommend accidentally entering a residential care facility beginning in 2013. The Florida Children and Family Department investigated him in September 2016 for a Snapchat post where he cuts off both arms and says he plans to buy weapons. At this time, a school resource officer suggested that he undergo a forced psychiatric examination under the terms of the Baker Act. Two counselors agree, but there is no mental institution. State researchers report he has depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In their assessment, they concluded he was "at low risk of hurting himself or others". He had previously received mental health care, but had not received treatment in the years leading up to the shootings.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel describes Cruz's online profile and account as "very, very disturbing". They load pictures and writings of him with various weapons, including long knives, guns, pistols, and BB rifles. Police say he has an "extremist" view; the social media accounts deemed related to it contain anti-black and anti-Muslim insults. YouTube comments related to it include, "I want to die Fighting [sic] killing people's shit", threats against police and Antifa, and intending to imitate the shooting of the University of Texas tower. In February 2017, he purchased the AR-15 semi-automatic semi-automatic rifle from the Coral Springs gun shop. A year later, he used this weapon to make mass shootings in his former school.
The items found by the police at the scene included rifle magazines with carvings carved in them. One student reported that Cruz had drawn a swastika and the words "I hate niggers" in his backpack. CNN reports that Cruz is in a private Instagram group chat where he expresses racist, homophobic, antisemit, and anti-immigrant (xenophobic) views. He says he wants to kill gay people and Mexicans, and talks about keeping the blacks in the chain. He said he hates blacks "just because they are black," and Jews because he believes "they want to destroy the world". He also mentions white women who engage in racial relationships as traitors.
His former classmate said Cruz has anger management problems and often jokes about weapons and gun violence, which included the threat of firing on the company. The brother of a 2016 graduate described him as "super stress all the time and talked about many guns and tried to hide his face". A student who enrolled at school at the time of the shooting said, "I think everyone is in their minds if anyone will do it, it will be him". The classmate who was assigned to work with him in his second year said, "He told me how he was expelled from two private schools, he was arrested twice, he had aspirations to join the military, he enjoyed hunting." A student mother said that she also boasted about killing animals. A neighbor said his mother would call the police home to try to speak some understanding to him.
Warnings for law enforcement
Sheriff Scott Israel said that his office received 23 calls about Cruz over the past decade, but this figure is still debated. CNN uses a public record request to get a sheriff's office record, which indicates that from 2008 to 2017, at least 45 calls were made in connection with Cruz, his brother, or family home. The call included an anonymous tip on February 5, 2016, that Cruz threatened to shoot at school, and tipped on November 30, 2017, that he might be a "school shooter in the making" and that he collects knives and weapons. On September 23 , 2016, a peer counselor informed the school's officers of suicide attempts and intent to purchase weapons; the school indicates a "threat assessment".
In September 2016, three people - deputy sheriff who worked as a resource officer at Stoneman Douglas, and two school counselors - declared that Cruz should commit to mental evaluation.
On September 24 , 2017, someone with the username "nikolas cruz" posted a comment to a YouTube video. It reads, "Im [sic] will be a professional school shooter". The person who uploaded the video to YouTube reported the comment to the FBI. According to agent Robert Lasky, the agency did a database review but was unable to track individuals who made threatening comments.
On January 5 , 2018, the FBI Public Access Path receives a tip from someone close to Cruz. On February 16 , two days after the shooting, the agency released a statement detailing this information. According to the statement, "The caller provides information about Cruz's gun ownership, the will to kill people, uncertain behavior, and disrupt social media posts, as well as the potential for him to shoot at school." After an investigation, the FBI said the tip line did not follow the protocol when the information was not forwarded to the Miami Field Office, where investigative steps would be taken. The FBI opened an investigation into end-line operations.
Lack of response by Israel and other members of the Broward sheriff's department against many red flags and warnings about Cruz has been the subject of much research. In the days after the shootings, calls for Israeli resignations increased as more information touched on by the department's inaction was revealed. Since the shooting, Israel has refused to resign and refused to take responsibility for its role for failing to stop Cruz before the mass shootings took place. In an interview with CNN, Israel described his leadership in the department as "extraordinary", a claim that is widely ridiculed and criticized.
Legal process
On the initial indictment the day after the shooting, Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and ordered to be detained without ties. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces a death sentence or life without parole. According to a written statement by the sheriff's office, Cruz claimed the shooting. He also told the clerk that he was carrying an additional magazine loaded hidden in his backpack.
The chief public defender said it is unknown if a Cruz-appointed lawyer will seek a crazy defense.
Cruz is placed at the suicide hour in solitary confinement cell (isolation cell) after the indictment.
Defense adviser Gordon Weekes asked Judge Elizabeth Scherer to step down, claiming that his previous comments and decisions show favoritism against the prosecution, which would prevent Cruz from receiving a fair trial. He disagrees and declines the request on February 26 .
On March 7 , the grand jury sued Cruz over 34 counts: 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of first-degree assassinations. He was charged on March 13 , and the prosecutor filed a notice of their intention to seek the death penalty. They say they can prove five burdensome factors that fulfill the murder requirement in Florida. Cruz refused to submit an application, so Judge Scherer entered "innocent" on his behalf. Defenders previously offered guilty plea if the death penalty was removed from the table, and immediately repeat it before being denied.
During the week of April 8-12, 2018, Broward Judge Elizabeth Scherer filed a three-page letter from a Minnesotan into court records of the case. The letter was addressed to the judge and stated that research on Cruz's past led the writer to believe that Cruz suffered a developmental disability and that he was "... afraid of others and threatened by bullies." The letter ends by claiming that Cruz appears to be consumed by sadness and depression. This is part of a series of letters that have been sent to the judge, asking him to show mercy or for God to forgive his actions against his victims.
In the same week, a hearing was held to determine whether the taxpayer would pay for Cruz's defense. Information revealed that Cruz's legacy from his dead mother's treasures could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. His lawyer - the public defender appointed by the court of Howard Finkelstein - appealed to the court to wait until the probate case involving Cruz's final estate was concluded and his net worth could be determined. There are also lawsuits and claims against his mother's property. These liens can complicate the process, although Cruz has stated that he wants the rest of the money from his defense to contribute to a goal that promotes healing and education in the community.
Aftermath
The school district provides grief counseling to students and their families. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that funeral and counseling fees would be paid by the state.
On Feb. 15, police presence increased in schools in at least two districts in Florida in response to the shootings. The building where the shootings took place will be destroyed.
On February 28 - two weeks after the shootings - Stoneman Douglas reopens for students amid heavy police presence. Principal Ty Thompson emphasized that the first week of return will be focused on healing, with classes ending at 11:40 am to 2 March . He tweeted "... Remember our focus is on emotional readiness and comfort instead of curriculum: so no need for backpacks. Come prepared to start the healing process and #RECLAIMTHENEST". Extra counseling and emotional support dogs are given to students upon return.
In early April, schools implemented several new safety rules and regulations. These changes include fewer entrances, law enforcement officers at every entrance, identification badges for students and staff, and a requirement that all book bags should be made of clear plastic. The use of metal detectors is under consideration. Some students criticize new security measures as ineffective and distracting.
On May 30, 2018, prosecutors released three videos of Cruz's mobile phone made before the shootings. Cruz describes her personal feelings, enthusiasm, and plans for filming, and how it will make her famous.
Officer response
A school resource officer (SRO) - a sheriff's deputy - remained outside Building 12 during filming; he was suspended unpaid the next day but he soon retired. The Israeli Sheriff said "[the deputy] is really on campus for this whole event" and that he should "go deep, talk to the killer, [and] kill the killer." A statement issued by the officer's lawyers said he believed the shooting was happening outside the building, which he said he told the first Coral Springs police officer who arrived at the scene. It also shows a radio transmission that shows a victim of a shot near the football field. However, transcribed Miami Herald radio states that the SRO at 2:23 says, "the possibility of fire - 1200 buildings". At 2:25, he says that "We also heard it, in 1200". At 2:27, in Building 12, he sent a radio, "Stay at least 500 feet at this point." On March 15, according to a court order, the sheriff's office released a videotape, captured by a school surveillance camera, showing some SRO movements during filming.
An anonymous source told CNN that the Coral Springs police arrived at the scene and saw three Broward deputies behind their vehicle with a pulled gun. The captain of the governing sheriff's office ordered the deputies to form the perimeter, instead of directly confronting the shooter; This tactic is contrary to the BSO training on active shooters. Based on the timestamp of the police log, the order was given shortly after the shooting stopped. The Israeli Sheriff said that Coral Springs officers were the first to enter the building, about four minutes after Cruz left school. Due to the delay of tape in seeing the surveillance tape, the officer believed that Cruz was still inside the building. In early March, there were three investigations into the timeline of the police response.
President Donald Trump criticized officers who failed to enter the building during the shootings. On February 26, he said he believed he would come in "even if I had no weapons, and I think most people in this room would do that, too", a claim and reaction mocked by media, and is considered embarrassing by survivors. David Hogg criticized the claim when Trump boasted and talked about him in the midst of a tragedy that did not care.
Political reaction
Trump delivered his prayers and condolences to the families of the victims, writing, "no children, teachers or other people who have ever felt insecure in American schools". In a speech broadcast on television, he mentions the issue of school safety and mental health. Florida Governor Rick Scott ordered that flags in state buildings be flown with half the staff, and Trump then ordered the flags to be flown half-staffed for the whole country. Two days after the shooting, Trump and his wife Melania visited Broward Health North, a hospital where eight shooting casualties were received. They meet with two victims and Trump praises doctors and law enforcement officers for their response to the attack.
On February 22 in the White House, Trump meets with students and others for "listening sessions". He suggests arming up to 20% of teachers to stop "maniacs" from attacking students. The next day, he called the school "gun free" as a "magnet" for the criminals and tweeted, "Highly trained, weapon expert, teacher/coach will solve the problem instantly, before the police arrive."
BBC News characterizes Republican politicians' reaction as a focus on mental health issues while avoiding debate over gun control, arguing that it is "too political or too fast". Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was time to "step back and count our blessings" rather than "taking sides and fighting one another politically". Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that "most" proposals on tighter gun legislation "would not prevent" this shooting or "one of them in history" and that lawmakers should take action with "a focus on the part of violence "in addition to weapons. Republican Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin stated that the country should reevaluate "things that are in the hands of our youth", especially "quote-video game quotes" that "have made people less sensitive to the value of human life".
Al Hoffman Jr., a Republican donor in Florida, promised that he would no longer fund legislative or non-active candidates working to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons to civilians. He said, "How many years have we done this - have an experience of terrorism, mass murder - and how many years have nothing been done?"
The Israeli sheriff called on lawmakers to amend the Baker Act to allow police arrest and hospitalized people who make disturbing posts - not just a clear threat - in social media. "I'm talking about being around a bomb, probably talking about 'I want to be a serial killer', talking about taking people's life," he said. "Just taking a picture with a gun or a knife or a weapon - which in itself is certainly not far from something we are worried about."
The arms control debate
Many surviving students criticized the responses of politicians and asked them not to offer condolences but to take action to prevent more students from being killed in school shootings. These students demanded stricter weapons control measures. Survivor Emma GonzÃÆ'¡lez is renowned for his speech repeating the thoughts and prayers of politicians. He then helped lead the protest movement against gun violence in the United States. Principal Broward County Superintendent Rob Runcie said, "now is the time to have a real conversation about gun control legislation". Lori Alhadeff, whose daughter was killed in the shooting, begged President Trump to do something to improve school safety.
In the aftermath of the shootings, some surviving students organized a group called Never Again MSD. This group is created in social media with #NeverAgain hashtag, a partially inspired activism by land broken by the #MeToo and Women 2018 March movement. The group demanded legislative action to prevent similar shootings, and has condemned the MPs who received political contributions from the National Rifle Association. The group held a rally on February 17 in Fort Lauderdale that was attended by hundreds of supporters.
Since the shooting, several rallies have been planned to take place with a focus on legislative action. The Women March Network hosts a 17-minute school staging which takes place on March 14 . A series of demonstrations called "March for Our Lives" on March 24 included a march in Washington, DC On April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre, an all-day schedule was planned for a group of teachers by educators Diane Ravitch and David Berliner, as well as groups of students.
On February 20th, dozens of High School Stoneman Douglas students went to the State Capitol in Tallahassee and watched the Florida House of Representatives refuse a bill that would ban arms attacks. Students are very critical of the voice. The bill's sponsor, Carlos Guillermo Smith, noted the peculiarities of the time of rejection both because of the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School and because Florida House of Representatives recently passed a law stating that pornography is a public health risk.
In mid-March, Lori Alhadeff announced her own non-profit organization, Make Schools Safe, which will largely focus on school campus security.
In May 2018, Cameron Kasky's father enrolled the PAC super, Families vs. Assault Rifles PAC (FAMSVARPAC), with the intention to "fight the NRA candidate in every meaningful race in the country".
Florida Law
In March, the Florida Legislature passed a law entitled Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. This raises the minimum age for purchasing the 21st rifle, setting the waiting period and background checks, providing a program to arm multiple school employees and hiring school police, barring bare stocks, and forbidding some potentially violent or mentally unsound people which is captured under a certain. the law of possessing weapons. Overall, it is allocated about $ 400 million. Rick Scott signed the bill into law on March 9 . On the same day, the NRA challenged the law by filing a lawsuit alleging that a ban on arms sales to people under 21 was unconstitutional for violating the rights that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments grants to children aged 18 to 21, who are classified as adults.
Federal law
On March 23 , the STOP School Violence Act was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which increased funding for metal detectors, security training and similar security measures. The lawmakers confirmed it in response to the shooting and public outrage. But students from Stoneman Douglas High School who are active in calling for tighter weapons control (not just security measures) feel this is passed because MPs "convey something very easy and simple that everyone can accept. Not doing anything."
Boycott NRA
After the shootings, a boycott appeared against US human rights groups, the Rifle Association (NRA) and its business affiliates. Calls for companies to sever their ties with the NRA are noticed when some companies stop their business relationship with the NRA. Public pressure makes big arms sellers like Dick, Walmart, and Fred Meyer voluntarily bumping into the age-purchase requirements of weapons from 18 to 21.
Victim Fund
In the aftermath of the shooting, over $ 7.5 million was raised to the victims in April 2018. Two other funds, the Florida Crime Victim Compensation Fund, which pays for medical and funeral expenses, and the National Mercy Fund that pays for pain and suffering, are also available to help the victims of the Parkland shooting.
Conspiracy, disinformation and harassment theories
Conspiracy theories circulated after the shootings. Speculation includes false claims that the shootings did not occur or were staged by "crisis actors". In one of the claims, Benjamin A. Kelly, a district secretary for Republican Republican Republican Shawn Harrison, sent an email to the Tampa Bay Times stating that the children in the picture were not students at school. The children were actually students at Stoneman Douglas High School who were interviewed by CNN. As a result of the counter-attack, Kelly was fired several hours later. Former Republican congressman and CNN contributor, Jack Kingston, advises student protesters to be paid by billionaire George Soros or endorsed by members of Antifa. Videos with descriptions that support conspiracy theorist that David Hogg's student is "crisis actor" reached Number 1 on the trending page before being deleted by the company.
The Alliance to Secure Democracy shows that Russian-linked accounts on Twitter and other platforms use the shootings to inflame tensions and divide America by posting comments contained that oppose arms control. Other Russian-linked accounts are labeled shootings of false flag operations that the US government exploits to seize weapons from citizens. Hundreds of Russian bots are also suspected of coming to Laura Ingraham's defense on Twitter after her boycott of the show, The Ingraham Corner, resulting from her public ridicule about Hogg.
Some survivors of the massacre and their families are subjected to online harassment that includes death threats. Cameron Kasky wrote on Twitter that he quit Facebook for a while, because the threat of death from "NRA devotees" is a bit more graphical on unlimited character service.
Passing ceremony
On June 3, 2018, the school held a graduation ceremony with a diploma presentation to Nicholas Dworet's families, Joaquin Oliver, Meadow Pollack, and Carmen Schentrup. Principal Ty Thompson began by offering ceremonies for "those who are not with us". Many graduates wear sashes adorned with #MSDStrong, or decorate their hats with reference to the Never Again movement, while some dedicate their hats to their classmates. The victim's family also made a statement, with the mother of Joaquin Oliver receiving a diploma wearing a T-shirt that said "This must be my son". Talk show host Jimmy Fallon made a surprise appearance and gave a speech starting to the graduating class, thanking them for their courage and courage.
See also
- Assault weapon legislation in the United States
- Extreme Risk Protection Orders
- Federal Weapons Weapon
- The political gun in the United States
- List of attacks associated with high school
- List of disasters in the United States by the death toll
- The list of killers goes berserk (school slaughter)
- List of school shootings in the United States
- The shooting of Santa Fe High School - the shooting of a similar school in Texas in May 2018
Note
References
External links
- "Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public High School Safety Commission." Florida Law Enforcement Department.
- Message from the head of Stoneman Douglas High School, Ty Thompson on YouTube (2:11)
- "# MSDStrong Documentary", a video produced by students at Stoneman Douglas High School after the incident on YouTube (26:46)
- second hearing indictment Cruz, March 13 on YouTube (27:45)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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