On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and fatally shot 17 people.
The tragic incident was one of the many school shootings that have occurred in 2018 thus far. Cruz was arrested and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder after confessing. Months later, teens from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have become known worldwide as the voices of change–actively protesting around the nation for harsher gun control and legislation.
Now, the Broward County state attorney is pushing for a death penalty trial after new evidence was released of several testimonial videos recorded on his cellphone hours before entering the high school with an AR-15 and shooting.
The video lays out Cruz’s plan precisely, as far as saying he would take an “Uber in the afternoon before 2:40 p.m. and walk onto campus, unload his bag, and begin firing rounds.” Cruz also discusses that his “life is meaningless,” and his plan is to become “recognized” and end his life of “seclusion and solitude.”
Warning: this video contains graphic content.
Cruz speaks throughout the video as though he is reciting a pre-written speech, saying:
I had enough being told what to do and when to do. I had enough of being told I am an idiot and a dumbass when in real life you’re all the dumbass. You are all stupid and brainwashed by the political government programs. You will all see. You will all know what my name is.
He switches throughout the videos of showing his face, then filming his arm (in a black cast) and then speaking as he films the dirt on the ground. He closes out the video professing his love for a girl saying:
“My love for you will never go away.”
Currently, Cruz is being held at Broward County jail in an isolated, single-person cell. According to prosecutors, the video footage can help them push for a death penalty trial, as “premeditation is key in a capital murder case.”
h/t BuzzFeed.