MIAMI (AP) - The Latest on the Florida school shooting (all times local):
2:50 p.m.
A Florida man whose son and daughter survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School says he doesn’t care if the alleged shooter faces life in prison or the death penalty.
Ira Jaffe said in a statement Tuesday that he can see both sides of the death penalty debate but that he doesn’t think anyone should spend any more time thinking about Nikolas Cruz. He says Cruz will rot in hell no matter when it is that he arrives there.
Jaffe’s statement came after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Cruz. The former Stoneman Douglas student is charged with 17 counts of murder. His attorneys have said he is willing to plead guilty if they take the death penalty off the table.
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Florida voters may get a chance to decide whether or not they want to approve new gun control restrictions.
While Gov. Rick Scott just signed a new gun bill into law, the state’s Constitution Revision Commission may vote to place gun restrictions on this year’s ballot. The commission has the power to ask voters to approve changes to the state’s constitution.
Tony Montalto’s daughter was one of 17 killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February. He asked commissioners at a public hearing Tuesday to act because the National Rifle Association has filed a lawsuit against the new law.
The commission will consider proposals that call for raising the age of weapon purchases to 21, banning bump stocks, a ban on types of semi-automatic rifles and extending the waiting period for gun purchases.
It is expected to take a final vote on its proposals over the next few weeks.
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1:50 p.m.
A 15-year-old student is improving after falling critically ill from an intestinal infection weeks after being shot five times at his Florida school shooting.
Broward Health spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said Tuesday that Anthony Borges’ condition has now been upgraded to fair. He had been in critical condition.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student is credited with saving the lives of 20 students by attempting to close and lock a classroom door during the Feb. 14 attack where 17 people were killed in Parkland.
The family’s attorney says that after surgeries, his intestinal area has been sealed off. Alex Arreaza says the student is breathing on his own after being taken off a ventilator.
Borges’ family has filed notice that they will sue Florida authorities to seek money to cover the cost of his recovery.
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1:35 p.m.
Florida prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz in the fatal shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
The office of Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz filed the formal notice Tuesday. The 19-year-old Cruz is scheduled for formal arraignment Wednesday on a 34-count indictment, including 17 first-degree murder charges.
Cruz’s attorneys have said he would plead guilty if the death penalty was not pursued in the Valentine’s Day massacre. The action by prosecutors Tuesday does not necessarily mean a plea deal will not be reached.
The only other penalty option for Cruz is life in prison with no possibility of parole.
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