Father of Parkland Victim Rejects Shooter’s ‘Absolutely Ridiculous’ Apology After Guilty Plea

Ken MeyerOct 20th, 2021, 2:33 pm
 

The father of 14 year old Gina Montalto — who died in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting — has refused the apologetic statement offered by her killer.

On Wednesday, Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to all the charges leveled against him as the perpetrator of the Parkland massacre. A jury will now decide whether Cruz gets life in prison or the death penalty, but while he was in court, he said in a statement “I am very sorry for what I did, and I have to live with it every day. And that if I were to get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to help others.”

Tony Montalto joined CNN’s Ana Cabrera hours later to talk about this, and he was asked how he felt about Cruz’s apology.

“Quite frankly, it’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Montalto. “If he wanted to apologize, he shouldn’t have murdered Gina and 16 other people that day. We saw a cold and calculating killer admit to murdering my beautiful daughter Gina and 16 others. Also, he admitted to attempting to kill another 17 people. He’s clearly a very dangerous man.”

Montalto also rejected the notion that Cruz has taken “responsibility” for his actions, saying “This is all just a little bit of theater, and it allows the defense to be able to focus on attempting to save his life in the penalty phase of the trial.” He also called for mass shooters to be prosecuted “to the full extent of the law,” and “I think he deserves as much of a chance as he gave my daughter and everyone else on February 14, 2018.”

Montalto’s response echoes Tom Hoyer, father of Parkland victim Luke Hoyer, who spoke to reporters earlier today and said he wants Cruz executed.

Watch above, via CNN and CBS.

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