![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUFtMVVim7QUhhw3289yRkHZHtqXb2t4o56FHUfNKkvdy/image.png) Image Source: [ABC News](http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/9451908-3x2-700x467.jpg) # Florida school shooting - 17 dead in 'horrific' Florida school shooting A former student unleashed a hail of gunfire in a Florida secondary high school on Wednesday, killing no less than 17 adults and youngsters. A shooter opened fire at a South Florida secondary school today, killing 17 individuals and sending students running for their lives, as indicated by law implementation officers on the scene. The deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook emitted Wednesday as experts say a 19-year-old man with a grieved past and an AR-15 rifle stalked the lobbies of Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Expelled from the school over disciplinary issues, Nikolas Cruz is blamed for pressing off shot after shot as students took cover under desks, fire alarms blared and teachers barricaded classrooms. By the time when it was more than, 17 individuals were dead or biting the dust, and 16 were injured. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQme2Wu3qJdgXMcGqzZ2QSCaxpinWMvbpNSoYsLmeySvvjx/image.png) Image Source: [Sun Sentinel](http://c-5uwzmx78pmca09x24eeex2ebzjquox2ekwu.g00.sun-sentinel.com/g00/3_c-5eee.acv-amvbqvmt.kwu_/c-5UWZMXPMCA09x24pbbx78x3ax2fx2feee.bzjquo.kwux2fquo-3i62jnkix2fbczjqvmx2fant-x78izstivl-akpwwt-apwwbqvo-twkibqwv-08968092x2f538x2f538f200x3fq98k.uizsx3dquiom_$/$/$/$/$/$) # Students dove under desks and teachers blockaded classrooms as shooter stalking halls killed 17 17 casualties were transported to Broward Health Coral Springs, Broward Health North, Broward Health Medical Center and Boca West Medical Center. Two of the 17 casualties who were transported died at the hospital; 15 casualties passed on at the hospital. Victims include students and adults, the Broward Sheriff's Office said. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmckF83EjmhkPHtgXQAUm4JaLUZQFYLAuPvMPXk3eq2yb9/image.png) Image Source: [CNN](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180214163354-11-florida-high-school-shooting-0214-exlarge-169.jpg) The AR-15 utilized as a part of the mass shooting was legitimately purchased by Cruz, lawyer Jim Lewis told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Cruz officially possessed the firearm when he moved in with his companion's family in northwest Broward around Thanksgiving, Lewis said. "It was his weapon," Lewis said. "The family influenced him to keep it in a secured firearm bureau in the house yet he had a key." The family did not see him shooting the AR-15 but rather saw him shooting pellet weapons, Lewis said. Cruz was captured off grounds and was taken to Broward Sheriff's Office central command in Fort Lauderdale. Although some students described Cruz as a normal teenager, others and some of his neighbors called him strange, troubled and depressed. The suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, was arrested off grounds. He slipped out of the school after the shooting by mixing in with different students who were trying to escape, according to two law enforcement sources and an eyewitness. A firearms enthusiast whose adoptive mother passed on last November, Cruz discussed shooting reptiles, squirrels and frogs, said Trevor Hart, who knew him from Spanish class and said he appeared "somewhat off." Police were called to his home various circumstances, said a previous neighbor, Shelby Speno, and he was seen shooting at a neighbor's chickens. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaQqFJ6hPXMye2KE7GXNZoF8VKU6uBHkZRyjHi3asFrJY/image.png) Image Source: [CNN](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180214174939-16-florida-high-school-shooting-0214-exlarge-169.jpg) ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXjTLLeYgJEFcPepHHaca3pasw3A9Q4Wcbj8tjqTEVwVQ/image.png) Image Source: [ABC News](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/parkland-florida-school-shooting-08-ap-jc-180214_4x3_992.jpg) ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYPLeTsVvz4oFU4bUEDgK2g2duHw8u6DwL8i95Rgg2AR2/image.png) Image Source: [ABC News](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/parkland-florida-school-shooting-10-ap-jc-180214_4x3_992.jpg) ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVxgT182ZPJp9uKXctQqsnUZv146FSk4AdPd2sY3N2LrZ/image.png) Image Source: [ABC News](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/school-shooting-students3-wplg-ps-180214_4x3_992.jpg) Panicked parents gushed to this well-to-do area of northwest Broward County on Wednesday evening, as news helicopters communicate the occurrence live, cops squatted behind autos with firearms drawn and understudies congregated on lanes, numerous crying, embracing and calling loved ones. In a blurry Snapchat video from inside the school, a man shouted, “Goodness. Oh, my God,” as the pop-pop, pop-pop of gunshots rang out and students screamed. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said 17 individuals were murdered, including the 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 casualties stay unidentified, he said. This was the most exceedingly bad school shooting since 26 kids and grown-ups were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. # 'And there the carnage began': how the Florida high school shooting unfolded ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNmh5HY6GxsYG667sWLbfa4cGeFYWPYiuzrx1f6R7bGcL/image.png) Image Source: [ABC News](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/parkland-florida-school-shooting-03-ap-jc-180214_4x3_992.jpg) Gunman armed with an assault rifle and grenades, tried to draw students out of their classrooms before opening fire at random, killing 17 people. Valentine's Day started in a glad mood for a significant number of the 3,200 students arriving at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, some gripping carefully assembled love hearts for schoolmates and blooms for their teachers. However, before the day's over, 17 individuals would be dead, professedly killed by a former student, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who had been expelled from the school for unspecified disciplinary reasons. The mass shooting is at any rate the eighth scene including firearm passing or damage at a US school this year. Unnerved adolescents clustered together with their educators in classrooms, wardrobes and restrooms as the shooter, outfitted with smoke explosives, a self-loader AR-15 strike rifle, and wearing a gas cover, moved from space to room, opening discharge unpredictably. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYrYVYaEqsJrKSF5bBet7XrT6JZkSJbLERBaCvjCFGf7v/image.png) Image Source: [The Guardian](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/68015f4297cd66f1fa75f6598a109e68129aa6cd/0_0_4254_2832/master/4254.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=eb276aaafaa131edc5ae19c1cdd58fd0) # Florida shooting: What we know about massacre suspect Nikolas Cruz Nikolas Cruz, who was captured in the wake of escaping the scene of the shooting, had supposedly been removed from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for disciplinary issues. Neighborhood district sheriff Scott Israel stated: >"We already began to dissect his websites and the things on social media that he was on and some of the things that came to mind are very, very disturbing." Chad Williams, 18, a senior student at the school, said Mr Cruz would set off the fire alarm, day after day, and got expelled in the grade 8. More recently, Mr Williams saw Mr Cruz carrying several publications about guns when they ran into each other at the high school. Mr Williams thought Mr Cruz was there to pick up a younger sibling. "He was wild about firearms," Mr Williams stated, talking by the side of the street close to the secondary school. >"He was kind of an outcast. He didn't have many friends. He would do anything crazy for a laugh, but he was trouble." Maths teacher Jim Gard told the Miami Herald Mr Cruz was banned from returning to campus while carrying a backpack. "There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus," he said. Mr Gard said school administrators sent an email to teachers warning them about Mr Cruz. ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSYMCuBRieAApXr8LQSa54Zfq71fCqvmkFNoq3gFFhHVW/image.png) ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeRCkr2FKzpgZYCdfnmSPcT3kmmLbVAeqrhdsizP6bWJj/image.png) Image Source: [CNN](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180214182548-florida-shooting-suspect-walk-screengrab-exlarge-169.jpg) # Suspect reportedly lured students out of classrooms Florida Senator Bill Nelson was informed on the shooting by the FBI. He said the shooter wore a gas veil as he stalked into the school conveying a rifle, ammo cartridges and smoke projectiles, at that point pulled a discharge caution, provoking understudies and staff to empty from their classrooms into passages. "What's more, there the bloodletting started," he said. ABC Washington department boss Zoe Daniel said the caution sounded just before understudies were to be rejected for the day and when they started emptying, the shooting began. Educator Melissa Falkowski disclosed to CNN her class "got possibly 15, 20 stages out of the classroom and we were informed that we were 'Code Red". >"We ran back inside and crouched down on the floor … there were kids in the closet." ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcRUqnnG7KbhyVUeoTtSR495dL4S7qAFLFBVeYtZx91Es/image.png) Students protected in classrooms for over a hour prior to police in strategic rigging led a guided departure. Ms Falkowski said her companion was instructing in another building — one for rookies, ordinarily first-year, students — where the shooting supposedly happened, said she saw three bodies on the floor as she was taking off. Mr Nelson said he didn't know whether the shooter had utilized the smoke explosives, however he accepted that was the reason he was wearing a gas veil. The sheriff likewise said Mr Cruz was found with different ammo magazines and one AR 15-style strike rifle. A rookie named Aidan posted a photograph via social media from inside his math class while on lockdown. "We have been liberated. God bless, America," Aidan tweeted after being evacuated from the building. "Love each other. You may never know when it may be the last day you meet someone." ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbHxkeT7k92jZt8hBHyT9e6fbQfNMDgYFb3Q8TCPkMfne/image.png) # Timeline - Florida high school shooting: ### What you need to know * **What happened:** A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. * **The victims:** At least 17 people were killed. * **The shooter:** The suspect, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, is in custody, according to local authorities. * **February 14, 2018 10:53pm EST** Shooting suspect's social media mentioned violence * **February 14, 2018 10:44pm EST** School shooting suspect to appear in court tomorrow From CNN’s Rosa Flores * **February 14, 2018 10:38pm EST** Suspect bought firearm and passed background check, source says From CNN's Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz * **February 14, 2018 10:27pm EST** Math teacher: Shooter was a "quiet kid" * **February 14, 2018 10:01pm EST** Audio from scene replays frantic work of first responders * **February 14, 2018 9:35pm EST** Five people hospitalized with life-threatening injuries * **February 14, 2018 9:25pm EST** Florida governor: "This is just absolutely pure evil" * **February 14, 2018 9:18pm EST** Superintendent: "We've got to find a way for this to stop" 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." ![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZeyBg8q87nD7TLHM8XcCcAtLdg2SssXszH2Y292JfbKa/image.png) The school will be closed for the rest of the week, Broward County Public Schools announced Wednesday night. There are over 3,000 students at the school, according to its website. Broward County Public Schools superintendent said grief counselors would be available. It’s terrible to hear about your loss and I express my sincere sympathy to all the families. I am deeply saddened by this. Difficult times, like this, can be very painful. But I pray to god to give all of you strength, and power to overcome this sorry time and may you see happiness soon. **I've taken references from these websites and news channels.** Source/References: [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/15/how-the-florida-high-school-shooting-unfolded-students-gunman) [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/14/us/florida-high-school-shooting/index.html) [ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/US/17-dead-horrific-florida-school-shooting-suspect-custody/story?id=53087462) [Sun Sentinel](http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-sb-active-shooter-marjory-stoneman-high-20180214-story.html) [ABC News](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-15/florida-shooting-arrest-captured-on-video/9449268) # Like what you've read? Don't forget to Upvote & Follow. 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