Nikolas Cruz trial: Parkland shooter couldn't 'wait' till everyone died, fired 139 shots hitting 1 victim 13 TIMES
The trial for the man behind the gruesome shooting in a Florida high school in 2018 started on Monday, July 18. Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. So far, it has shocked the audience to the core and forced some witnesses to relive the trauma. Lead prosecutor Michael J Satz started the trial with his opening statements and revealed that Cruz planned the entire killing spree.
Satz explained just how extensive and elaborate Cruz's attack on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was. Satz further explained that the investigators found 70 rounds on the first floor, 6 on the second floor, and 61 rounds on the third floor along with 2 more rounds that were found on a staircase, where coach Aaron Feis was killed. He also explained the casualties on each floor saying, "You will see the defendant on the first floor, fire a rifle, shoot and kill nine students. You will see the defendant fire his rifle six times on the second floor and you will see him shoot and kill five students on the third floor and a teacher on the third floor." The prosecutor summed up that Nikolas Cruz, now 23, fired 139 shots and that it was a "heinous, atrocious and cold" slaughter.
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The incident took place on February 14, 2018, making Cruz, 19 at the time when he carried out the horrific shooting with his legally-bought AR-15 rifle. The most shocking detail that Satz revealed was that Cruz shot one of his victims 13 times! He said of the 15-year-old student, "Peter Wang was shot 13 times," Using Wang as a statement, Satz claimed that this was substantial proof that Cruz carried out a "cold, calculated, manipulative and deadly" attack that "far outweigh[s] any mitigating circumstances." Cruz's attorneys are pushing the jury for a life sentence with no possibility of parole.
Prosecutor Satz ends his opening statement the way he began by quoting #NikolasCruz's last cell phone viceo saying he was going to be the next school shooter.
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) July 18, 2022
"Those words, those actions of killing 14 children, the athletic director, a coach, a teacher are why we're here today" pic.twitter.com/vnul1ApHgN
Nikolas Cruz couldn't wait to kill everyone
Satz revolved his opening statement heavily around the fact that Cruz was rather eager to carry out the high school massacre and reminded the jury of his deadly intentions in a video that he recorded. Cruz recorded a video of himself merely 3 days before the shooting in which he can be heard saying, "Hello, my name is Nik. I’m going to be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15 and some tracer rounds. It’s going to be a big event and when you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am. You’re all going to die. Ah yeah, I can’t wait. Ah yeah, I can’t wait."
STATE OPENING: 3 days before this massacre, the defendant made a video on his cellphone: "Hello, my name is Nik. I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15...It's going to be a big event."
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) July 18, 2022
#nikolasCruz pic.twitter.com/vIwGaAY6Wv
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Satz played the video for the jury and the audience to remind them of the fact that it was all planned and that Cruz, a 19-year-old boy, couldn't wait to kill at least 20 people in the high school. Satz ended his opening statement by saying, "Those words, those actions -- of killing 14 children, the athletic director, a coach, and a teacher -- is why we're here today. It's cold, calculated, manipulative, and deadly."