Editing Nikolas Cruz

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{{Villain_Infobox
|Image = Nikolas Cruz.jpg
|fullname = Nikolas Jacob Cruz
|alias = Nick Cruz<br>Nick<br>Marjory Stoneman Douglas Shooter<br>Nikolas Cruz Makarov<br>
|origin = Margate, Florida, USA
|occupation = Former Student (expelled)<br>Former JROTC member
|skills = Range shooting<br>Marksmanship<br>Combat proficiency<br>Deadly aim<br>Brute strength<br>Law evasion
|hobby = Killing little animals<br>Setting things on fire<br>Picking fights<br>Playing with guns<br>Playing Violent Videogames<br>Playing XBOX
|goals = Enact revenge on the community of Stoneman Douglas for ostracising him <small> (Succeeded)</small><br>Evade capture from criminal authorities<br>Over exaggerate his insanity to appear innocent and be spared life in prison (failed)<br>Survive in prison while owning up to his crimes and reconciling with the families of the people he killed (ongoing)
|crimes = Mass [[murder]]<br>[[Terrorism]]<br>[[Cruelty to animals|Animal Cruelty]]<br>[[Assault]]<br>Harassment<br>Bigotry<br>[[Homophobia]]<br>[[Islamophobia]]<br>[[Anti-Semitism]]<br>[[Ableism]]<br>[[Pedophilia]]<br>[[Hispanophobia]]<br>[[Misogyny]]<br>[[Negrophobia]]
|type of villain = Mentally Ill School Shooter
|motive =Resentment against Society and Life 
}}
{{Quote|Hello. My name is Nick, and I'm gonna be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people. With an AR-15 and a couple tracer rounds, I think I can get it done.|Cruz in a cell phone video shortly before the shooting.}}
'''Nikolas Jacob "Nick" Cruz''' (born September 24, 1998) is an American [[School Shooting|school shooter]] from Parkland, Florida. On February 14, 2018, he committed a [[Mass Shooting|mass shooting]] at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, (where he had formerly been a student), killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. The shooting is currently the deadliest high school shooting in United States history, surpassing the [[Eric Harris|Columbine]] [[Dylan Klebold|High School]] massacre of 1999.

== Victims ==

===Teachers===
This is a list of educators who had died in the shootings. All 3 of the victims were male. The victim's names are followed by their date of birth, and their age at the time that they were killed.
#Scott Beigel, geography teacher - October 22, 1982 (35 years)
#Aaron Feis, assistant football coach - May 17, 1980 (37 years)
#Chris Hixon, athletic director - February 25, 1968 (49 years)

===Students===
This is a list of students who had died in the shootings. In total, 14 were killed. 7 of the victims were male and 7 were female. The victim's names are followed by their date of birth, and their age at the time that they were killed.
#Alyssa Alhadeff - May 1, 2003 (14 years)
#Martin Duque - September 9, 2003 (14 years)
#Nicholas Dworet - March 24, 2000 (17 years)
#Jaime Guttenberg - July 13, 2003 (14 years)
#Luke Hoyer - October 25, 2002 (15 years)
#Cara Loughran - February 21, 2003 (14 years)
#Gina Montalto - April 22, 2003 (14 years)
#Joaquin Oliver - August 4, 2000 (17 years)
#Alaina Petty - August 22, 2003 (14 years)
#Meadow Pollack - October 5, 1999 (18 years)
#Helena Ramsay - January 19, 2001 (17 years)
#Alex Schachter - July 9, 2003 (14 years)
#Carmen Schentrup - February 21, 2001 (16 years)
#Peter Wang - November 9, 2002 (15 years)

== Personality ==
Cruz has been diagnosed with autism, depression, and ADHD, as well as history of hostile behavior and aggression. The police had received 39 calls to his mother's house. Also, Cruz was reported to the FBI twice, once for a YouTube comment in September 2017, in which he said "I'm going to be a professional school shooter," though it fell through after the FBI was "able to track him down". Cruz very commonly made spelling errors in his writing.<ref>[https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2018/02/15/nikolas-cruz-youtube-fbi-mississippi-bail-bondsmans-door/340580002/ YouTube comment under name of Florida shooting suspect brings FBI to Mississippian's door], ''The Clarion Ledger''</ref>

The other on January 5, 2018, when a person close to Cruz "provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting". His social media posts included bigoted messages, dead lizards, and weaponry on display. Video footage shot by others has has shown him engaging in fights, and shooting at inanimate objects in his underwear.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/nikolas-cruz-florida-shooting-suspect/index.html Social media paints picture of racist 'professional school shooter'], ''CNN''</ref>

== Biography ==
Nikolas Jacob Cruz was born on September 24, 1998, in Margate, Florida to [[Brenda Woodward]], a woman with a violent criminal history who has been arrested 46 times including in 1998 when she was caught buying crack cocaine while six months pregnant with Cruz. He and his half brother were adopted by Lynda and Rodger Cruz. By the time he was 3, he was diagnosed with developmental delays. By the time he was 6, he suffered the trauma of witnessing his father's death by heart attack. Lynda was left to raise the 2 boys all by herself.

Nikolas wasn’t an easy child. He had been diagnosed with a string of disorders and conditions: depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional behavioral disability and autism, records from the state Department of Children and Families show. His mom told sheriff’s deputies he also had obsessive-compulsive disorder and anger issues.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/15/florida-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-guns-depression-and-a-life-in-free-fall/ Florida shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz: Guns, depression and a life in trouble], ''Washington Post''</ref>

He had counselors in school and at home, according to DCF records, and he took medications.

Nikolas’s mother doted on him, and he was still learning to do household chores and laundry in his late teen years. Nikolas had bad influences among peers, school records say. When Zachary wanted to play with friends, their mother would make him take Nikolas along, the former neighbor and friend said. His brother and friends would often bully him.

His mother called the police to say he got physical with his brother and with her. The agency responded to 23 calls over 10 years, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. When he was 14, his mother reported that he had hit her with the plastic hose from a vacuum cleaner. A few months later, she told deputies he had thrown her against the wall because she took away his Xbox gaming system. A year later, she told deputies Nikolas, then 15, had punched the wall after she took away his Xbox.

Cruz was once expelled from his high school for bringing bullets in his backpack, and his pupils reported that Cruz liked to talk about guns, bullets, and poaching. He was also reported that he would make threats towards other students.<ref>[https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-school-shooting-cruz-20180214-story.html Nikolas Cruz: Troubled suspect had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School], ''Sun Sentinel''</ref>

After his mother's death in November 2017, Cruz and his brother were taken in by Rocxanne Deschamps, a family friend. Cruz stayed there for a little less than a month, during which time Deschamps called 911 on him a number of times. She was afraid that Cruz might harm either himself or her family with his gun. According to Deschamps's statement, she called 911 for the third time when Cruz was punching holes in the wall, and attacked her son. By the time the police arrived, Cruz had left the house, and Deschamps was afraid he had gone to get his gun. When he returned, Deschamps served Cruz an ultimatum: he could either stay at her house and give up his gun or leave. Cruz chose to leave. He lived with a friend for a brief period of time before moving into James Snead's house.

==The shooting==
On February 14, 2018, which happened to be Valentine's Day,<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/shootings-education-florida-fort-lauderdale-parkland-school-shooting-045455fc875b7a91800468995c18dcf5 School shooter chose Valentine’s Day to ruin it forever], ''AP News''</ref> Cruz came to his former high school in a Uber at 2:19 PM, shortly before the school ended for the day. He entered his former high school and killed 17 people and wounded 17 others, sending students running into the streets in panic and terror. Though he was initially unable to flee the scene by dropping his weapons and blending in with the terrified fleeing students, the police identified him through school surveillance footage. He was eventually stopped in Coral Springs Florida, about 79 minutes after the shooting initially began.<ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-shows-how-the-parkland-florida-school-shooting-unfolded-2018-2 This timeline shows exactly how the Parkland shooting unfolded], ''Business Insider''</ref>

Cruz armed himself with an M&P 15 sport 2 semi-automatic rifle with 30 round magazines. Upon entering the school, he pulled a fire alarm and began shooting at teachers and students. Upon his capture at 3:40 PM, he was sent to the hospital, but then ultimately sent to Broward County Jail.

==Motives==
The exact reasons behind Cruz's attack remain unknown, but there are many possible contributing factors. Nikolas Cruz suffered from mental illness exacerbated by violence and aggression. He was transferred to a special education school in 2014 but ended up transferring to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2016. He was suspended on September 20, and only 8 days later attempted to kill himself by slitting his wrists and drinking gasoline. He also expressed plans to buy a gun, while getting into many fights and having dished out many threats.

The death of his mother on November 1, 2017, may have influenced him. Cruz watched his adoptive father die in 2004, so Cruz lived with relatives and younger brother after both of his parents had died. He posted a series of violent and possibly threatening pictures on his Instagram account. He also used his account to express his racist views and broadcast threats to others, including his school. He posted dozens of pictures showcasing his weapons, posted alongside his extremist views being usually extremist views identified with the alt-right. Even after his January 5th case, the police failed to investigate the matter, breaking protocol and enabling the assault.

In his interview after he was arrested, Cruz claimed to have heard a voice in his head that said, "Burn, Kill, Destroy". Describing the voice as his 'demon', Cruz stated it had told him to buy his AR-15 rifle and perpetrate the shooting. However, the fact that Cruz informed nobody, not even his mother or a mental health professional, about the voice suggests that Cruz was lying. It is likely that Cruz invented this 'demon' in order to prove his innocence.

==Sentence==
He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, which carried a possible death penalty conviction. After his arraignment, he was held in an isolated cell on suicide watch.

Some prosecutors were seeking to have him be punished by the death penalty.

Cruz was to go on trial in January 2020, but the trial was delayed to summer 2020 to give the defense more time to prepare. In June 2020, the trial was delayed again because of concerns about COVID-19 and will likely be delayed until 2021.

On October 20 2021, Cruz plead guilty to the 17 counts. He had initially pleaded not guilty to all of the crimes, but his attorneys recently said they would not contest his guilt. Instead, the group of public defenders who represent Cruz had asked the court to sentence him to 17 life sentences.

On October 13 2022, the jury returned a verdict of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for Nikolas Cruz on a vote on 9 for the death penalty and 3 against it. The jury recommended this sentencing for him based on past records detailing his biological mother’s use of alcohol and illicit drugs during pregnancy and failure by the state and the school and other sources to get him proper treatment. However, many of the victims’ families as well as the prosecution, many politicians and even state governor [[Ron Desantis]] were angered with the jury’s decision.

On November 2, 2022, Cruz was officially sentenced to 34 consecutive life sentences, 17 of them without the possibility of parole plus a minimum of 380 years, one each for the total number of victims murdered and wounded by Cruz.<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/parkland-shooter-nikolas-cruz-sentencing-11-02-2022/index.html Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz formally sentenced], ''CNN''</ref>

==Gallery==
===Images===
<gallery widths="300" position="center" captiontextcolor="#5cc1c7" bordercolor="#27bb0a">
1518644672693.jpg|First ever photo of Cruz to surface the internet after the massacre.
Untitled-1520029856.png|Nikolas Cruz being arrested.
ThYXBI8WQ0.jpg|Young Cruz taking a picture of himself in the mirror.
ThAO4CTDRJ.jpg|Cruz at a bond hearing a day after the school shooting.
thA5JIL0D0.jpg
professional.png|Nikolas Cruz's comment on Youtube.
Nikolas-Jacob-Cruz.jpg
CruzHD.jpg
Nikolascruzgun1.jpeg|Nikolas Cruz with a gun.
Nikolascruz2.jpg|A photo of Nikolas Cruz with a MAGA hat and a bandanna. 
</gallery>

===Videos===
<YouTube width=320 height=180>https://youtu.be/LHD_lS3WnfM</YouTube>
<YouTube width=320 height=189>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqAJn_BcWDk</YouTube>

==Trivia==
*Cruz was inspired by several infamous school shootings including the Texas Tower shooting perpetrated by [[Charles Whitman]] in August 1966<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/im-going-what-did-youtube-12029749 'I'm going to do what he did': YouTube user 'Nikolas Cruz' revealed mass shooting plan NINE MONTHS before Florida school massacre], ''The Mirror''</ref> and the Columbine High School Massacre perpetrated by [[Eric Harris]] and [[Dylan Klebold]] in 1999. 
*He is openly [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]], [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitic]] and [[homophobia|homophobic]], and identifies as a member of the [[Alt-Right]], according to various posts from his social media accounts.
*Cruz is a strong supporter of former U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] and reportedly wore a red "Make America Great Again" hat to school quite often. He was also known to frequently insult liberals, communists, and members of [[Antifa]].<ref>[https://newsone.com/3841685/parkland-shooter-trump-maga-hat/ Parkland Shooter Loved MAGA Hats And ‘Anything Associated With Trump’: Report], ''NewsOne''</ref>
*Cruz was a fan of the YouTuber Rusty Cage, whose Knife Game Song videos were in Cruz' phone search history, as shown in a police report. Rusty Cage made a video after finding out he was in the police report, making fun of Cruz and saying he doesn't condone the actions of school shooters, viewing them as "fucking pathetic losers".
*At the time of the shooting, he was enrolled in a GED program and employed at a local dollar store.
*He reportedly bragged to friends that he enjoyed killing and torturing animals.
*Just seconds before the shooting began, a student named Chris McKenna entered the stairwell as Cruz was loading his weapon, who said to him, "Get out of here, things are about to get bad."
*The Parkland shooting is currently ranked the third deadliest school shooting in United States history and the 9th deadliest mass shooting overall. It is also the deadliest school shooting to take place on a high school campus, surpassing the [[Eric Harris|Columbine]] [[Dylan Klebold|massacre]] of 1999.
*Cruz has an IQ of 83, which is slightly below average.
*The bullets he used during the shooting reportedly had swastikas carved on them.
*According to the Miami Herald, Cruz's birth mother Brenda Woodard was arrested 28 times, including a 2010 charge for beating a companion with a tire iron. She was also arrested for buying crack cocaine when pregnant with Cruz. 
*Cruz has an older half-sister named [[Danielle Woodard]], who is allegedly serving an eight-year prison sentence for charges including second-degree attempted murder of a police officer. When she was younger, Danielle Woodard had been charged for bringing weapons to school. She has been arrested 17 times.
==References==
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