On Wednesday 14th February, 19-year-old Nicolas Cruz killed 17 people and wounded a further 14 after open-firing on a crowd of students outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He was arrested following a brief manhunt, and today is appearing in court for the first time.
Since his arrest, details of his
disturbing social media background have emerged, as have his
ties to a white nationalist group. The group, known as the Republic of Florida Militia, have since distanced themselves from Cruz, saying he "acted on his own behalf".
Meanwhile, one high school freshman in South Carolina did the complete opposite, and tried to tie himself to the shooting when by sharing a selfie via Snapchat that was captioned: "Round 2 of Florida tomorrow".
The snap was traced back to a student from Broome High School in Spartanburg, after detectives were notified by a parent who had seen the image on their child's phone. Law enforcement responded immediately, and a search of the student's home turned up an airsoft rifle and a mask.
As a result, the unnamed freshman was arrested and charged with disturbing schools.
He has since tried to excuse his actions, and claimed that it was only a joke - but officials aren't backing down.
"After informing the suspect and his parents of the law violation, the suspect stated his Snapchat post was just intended as a joke, and that he didn’t have any serious intentions," said Lt. Kevin Bobo, of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to the student's arrest by police, the school district has increased security at his school.
"The safety of our students and staff is of paramount importance," said a school district spokesperson in an official statement. "In order to ensure the safety of every student, the District Three Administration and Board of Trustees are providing additional security at the school."
In the days after the Valentine's Day shooting, parents, friends and fellow students of the murdered teenagers have held vigils in Parkland to commemorate their loved ones. 17 balloons were released at the end of one of the ceremonies, and more than a dozen ministers turned up to preside over the proceedings.
At another vigil, students began chanting "no more guns" in protest of the loose regulations that allowed a so-called mentally disturbed teenager to purchase a semiautomatic weapon.
Florida Governor, Rick Scott, has since said that he would like to see some sort of reform in these laws to prevent yet another event like this from happening.
"Everything's on the table. I'm going to look at every way that we can make sure our kids are safe," he said. He also later added, "We cannot let this pass without making something happen that hopefully, and it's my goal that this will never happen again in my state."
President
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has done his best to avoid discussion of
gun control, and insists that the shooter was driven by mental health problems. "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" he tweeted on Thursday.
However, now that footage has emerged of the shooter doing target practice in his backyard while wearing a Make America Great Again baseball hat, Trump might want to reconsider what exactly it is that makes someone "a problem", and how he can take steps to prevent another massacre like this from taking place.
Cruz remains in police custody, and has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
