PARKLAND, Fla. — The deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook erupted Wednesday as authorities say a 19-year-old man with a troubled past and an AR-15 rifle stalked the halls of Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Expelled from the school over disciplinary problems, Nikolas Cruz is accused of squeezing off shot after shot as students took cover under desks, fire alarms blared and teachers barricaded classrooms. By the time it was over, 17 people were dead or dying, and 16 were wounded.
Cruz was arrested off campus and was taken to Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. Although some students described Cruz as a normal teenager, others and some of his neighbors called him strange, troubled and depressed.
A firearms enthusiast whose adoptive mother died last November, Cruz talked about shooting lizards, squirrels and frogs, said Trevor Hart, who knew him from Spanish class and said he seemed "a little off." Police were called to his house numerous times, said a former neighbor, Shelby Speno, and he was seen shooting at a neighbor's chickens.
"He wore a hoodie and always had his head down," said Janine Kartiganer, a former neighbor. "He looked depressed."
Panicked parents streamed to this affluent section of northwest Broward County on Wednesday afternoon, as news helicopters broadcast the incident live, police officers crouched behind cars with guns drawn and students congregated on streets, many crying, hugging and calling friends and family.
In a blurry Snapchat video from inside the school, a man yelled, "Oh, my God," as the pop-pop, pop-pop of gunshots rang out and students screamed.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said 17 people were killed, including both students and adults, with two shot outside the school, one in the street, 12 inside the school and two dying from their wounds at the hospital. Five of the victims remain unidentified, he said. This was the worst school shooting since 26 children and adults were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.
Investigators have begun analyzing Cruz's social media accounts, which the sheriff said contained material that was "very, very disturbing."
Cruz was taken into custody off campus without incident, he said. Wearing a red shirt, black pants and black boots, Cruz was placed on a gurney. At 4:47 p.m. he was wheeled into Broward Health North hospital in Deerfield Beach. Later he was taken from the hospital to Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters in Fort Lauderdale.
"People are still undergoing surgery," Israel said. "We just pray for this city, pray for this school, the parents, the folks that lost their lives. It's a horrific, horrific day."
Among those shot was the school's athletic director, Chris Hixon, according to the school's assistant athletic director Marilyn Rule. No information was immediately available on his condition.
Sixteen people were being treated at area hospitals. Seven victims were being treated at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Dr. Benny Menendez told a crowd of reporters. Two were in critical condition and five were stable. Nine were taken to Broward Health North Medical Center, where three were in critical condition.
"We do drills and when this happens we're ready," Menendez said. "We practice for this."
The school, located in a well-off, low-crime neighborhood near the Everglades, will be closed for the rest of the week.
FBI agents were on the scene interviewing students asking for anyone who saw the shooter.
"You're OK!" one student said as she cried and hugged her friend who had just come out. "You're safe now, don't worry."
Samuel Dykes, a freshman, was on the third floor of the school when he said he heard gunshots and saw several bodies in a classroom.
SWAT told the class to keep their eyes forward as they exited the school, he said.
At around dismissal time at 2:40 p.m., staff and students heard what sounded like gunfire and enacted a "code red" lock down, according to the Broward School District.
"It's a horrific situation," Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie said. "It's just a horrible day for us."
Students were streaming down Pine Island Road at 3:30, some of them crying, some talking on cell phones.
Meghan Walton's mascara was running as she walked down Pine Island Road with her mother, Derval Walton. She was waiting in the car line to pick up her 15-year-old freshman daughter when she got the ominous text from her: "Code Red."
"Kids were running out full of blood," Derval Walton said. "Kids were falling in the grass."
Hannah Siren, 14, was in math class on the third floor.
"The people next door to us must have not locked their door," she said, breaking into tears. "They all got shot."
How many?
"10 or ... 7."
Andy Pedroza, 18, of Parkland, was returning to class when he heard shots.
"My instincts kicked in," he said. He ran to the bathroom and hid in a stall. "The toilet was slippery and I thought I would make too much noise," he said, so he didn't crouch on the toilet.
He waited what he thought was at least 20 minutes until the shooting stopped, then he heard the sirens and the police chatter on their radios.
He walked out of the bathroom, and police directed him outside, patted him down and said, "Just run."
President Donald Trump tweeted: "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school."
Deputy White House press secretary Lindsay Walters said, "We are monitoring the situation," she said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected."
Gov. Rick Scott announced plans to come to Broward County immediately. He spoke on the phone with Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, Broward schools superintendent Robert Runcie and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen, according to the governor's office. He ordered flags on all state buildings to be set at half-staff in "remembrance of the victims of the senseless violence committed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida."
(Susannah Bryan, Gary Curreri, Anne Geggis, Skyler Swisher and Scott Travis contributed to this report.)
© 2018 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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