Florida Shooter Identified as Former High School Student Nikolaus Cruz

Aidan McLaughlinFeb 14th, 2018, 5:17 pm
 

A gunman opened fire inside a Florida high school on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding dozens more.

Officials have now identified the shooter as 19-year-old ex student Nikolaus Cruz. Authorities said he was once a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and returned there to carry out the deadly shooting.

SWAT teams arrived to the scene of the active shooting and put the school on lockdown, evacuating students and teachers as they searched for the gunman. Cruz was apprehended by police around two hours after the shooting began.

Cruz entered the High School armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and extra magazines, in an act that came as little surprise to his fellow students, per the Daily Mail. He had previously been expelled from the school for undisclosed reasons. The Mail also obtained a photo of Cruz:

The extent of the massacre soon became clear, with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) telling reporters that the shooting caused “many deaths” at the school.

Police scanner audio revealed that authorities were seeking Cruz at the school by name:

Watch footage of Cruz being loaded into a police car above, via NBC.

[image via screengrab]

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Aidan McLaughlin - Editor in Chief

Aidan McLaughlin is the Editor in Chief of Mediaite. Send tips via email: aidan@mediaite.com. Ask for Signal. Follow him on Twitter: @aidnmclaughlin