Nikolas Cruz

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Illustration on the need for clearer scrutiny and vetting for firearm purchases by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

Confronting school shootings

By John Ligato

Magaly Newcomb, right comforts her daughter Haley Newcomb, 14, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, at a makeshift memorial outside the school, in Parkland, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from the school, is being held without bail in the Broward County Jail, accused of 17 counts of first-degree murder. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Latest: Suspect legally purchased at least 7 long guns

Associated Press

FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2018 file photo, students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus. Students are taught to evacuate during fire alarms but lock down during school shootings. So there was confusion Wednesday when a fire alarm sounded, the second one that day at the high school as 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz unleashed a barrage of gunfire. Head for the exits or hunker down in classrooms? (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, File)

For school shooting suspect, main question is life or death

By CURT ANDERSON - Associated Press

JoAnna Ciaramello chats with sons James, center, and Jack at a park in Parkland, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. The two boys escaped a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, had been one of Jack Ciaramello’s cadets in the school's tight-knit Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

ROTC leader shocked that accused school shooter 1 of his own

By ALLEN G. BREED - Associated Press

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, left, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at the school killing more than a dozen people and injuring several. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz likely to plead guilty if no death penalty, public defender’s office says

Associated Press

A group of people hold signs that read 'Guns Down Test Scores UP' during a protest against guns on the steps of the Broward County Federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, is charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The Latest: Shooting survivors focus anger at Trump, tweets

Associated Press

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, left, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at the school killing more than a dozen people and injuring several. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz, suspected Parkland shooter, espoused racism in chats; bragged of writing Trump: Report

By Andrew Blake - The Washington Times

Sara Smith, left, and her daughter Karina Smith visit a makeshift memorial outside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty were killed in a mass shooting on Wednesday, in Parkland, Fla., Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Shooting survivors on potential collision course with Donald Trump

By Jason Dearen, Terry Spencer and Allen G. Breed - Associated Press

Maria Creed is overcome with emotion as she crouches in front of one of the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, that were placed for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Creed's son, Michael Creed, is a sophomore at the school. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Florida, angry and grieving, takes gun protest to streets

By JASON DEAREN and ALLEN BREED and TAMARA LUSH - Associated Press

White nationalist appears to disavow connection with shooter

Associated Press

This Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 photo shows messages written by a group of Plant High School seniors on the sidewalk leading to their school in Tampa, Fla. "In addition to thoughts and prayers, action and policy need to take order," said senior Catarina Sterlacci. (James Borchuck/The Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Russian Twitter accounts echoed shooting-related messages after Parkland massacre: Report

By Andrew Blake - The Washington Times

FILE- In this March 7, 2012 file photo, Illinois gun owners and supporters file out National Rifle Association applications while participating in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day convention before marching to the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield, Ill. The troubled teen authorities say killed several people at a Florida high school on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, excelled in an air-rifle marksmanship program supported by a grant from the National Rifle Association Foundation, part of a multimillion-dollar effort by the gun group to support youth shooting clubs. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Shooting suspect was on school rifle team that got NRA grant

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and COLLIN BINKLEY - Associated Press

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, left, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at the school killing more than a dozen people and injuring several. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

FBI says protocol wasn’t followed in Florida high school shooting case

By Sally Persons and Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

Rich and Rachel Castleberry visit one of seventeen crosses after a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. With them are their children Mila, 9, left, Jack, 5, center, and Lucy, 7. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Latest: Trump visits hospital, meets shooting survivors

Associated Press

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi addresses price gouging complaints during a press conference Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Joe Reedy) ** FILE **

Pam Bondi: Prosecutor likely to seek death penalty against Nikolas Cruz, shooting suspect

By Sally Persons - The Washington Times

FILE- In this March 7, 2012 file photo, Illinois gun owners and supporters file out National Rifle Association applications while participating in an Illinois Gun Owners Lobby Day convention before marching to the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield, Ill. The troubled teen authorities say killed several people at a Florida high school on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, excelled in an air-rifle marksmanship program supported by a grant from the National Rifle Association Foundation, part of a multimillion-dollar effort by the gun group to support youth shooting clubs. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Suspect was a ‘good shot’ on NRA-backed school rifle team

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and COLLIN BINKLEY - Associated Press

Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Warning signs may have been missed in school shooting case

By KELLI KENNEDY - Associated Press

Students grieve at Pine Trails Park for the victims of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

FBI says it failed to investigate tip on Florida suspect

By KELLI KENNEDY and CURT ANDERSON and TAMARA LUSH - Associated Press

"We're in the science business and the evidence-generating business, and so I will have our agency certainly be working in this field as they do across the whole broad spectrum of disease control and prevention," Trump health secretary Alex Azar told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (Associated Press)

Alex Azar, Trump health secretary, open to government gun violence study

By Sally Persons and Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, center, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing more than a dozen people and injuring several. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

Nikolas Cruz confessed to Parkland, Florida high school shooting: police report

Associated Press