Nikolas Cruz

Nikolas Cruz
Nikolas Cruz
	Cruz's mugshot following his arrest
Born	Nikolas Jacob Cruz; September 24, 1998; Margate, Florida, U.S.
Education	Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (expelled)
Occupation	Former Dollar Tree cashier
Known for	Perpetrator of the Parkland high school shooting
Criminal status	Incarcerated
Motive	Disputed: Revenge for perceived social rejection (prosecution); Brain dysfunctions caused by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (defense); Declining mental health and depression (defense); Attempt to ruin Valentine's Day (self-declared);
Convictions	Premeditated first-degree murder (17 counts); Attempted first-degree murder (17 counts);
Criminal penalty	34 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole
Details
Date	February 14, 2018
Targets	Students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Killed	17
Injured	17
Weapon	Smith & Wesson M&P15 Sport II semi-automatic rifle

Nikolas Jacob Cruz (born September 24, 1998) is an American mass murderer who fatally shot fourteen students and three staff members and injured seventeen others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. In November 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the shooting, which remains one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States.

Cruz had been known for his behavioral problems since preschool, and as a teenager on social media, he shared his obsessions with mass shootings and expressed racist, sexist, antisemitic, xenophobic, and homophobic views. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He legally purchased various firearms before the shooting.