Nikolas Cruz: Parkland school shooter laid out plans in chilling videos
‘I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018’, teen bragged before rampage

The teenager who shot dead 14 classmates and three teachers at a Florida high school bragged that he would be “the next school shooter” in a video recorded before the massacre.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, was apprehended by police an hour after the Valentine’s Day rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
On Wednesday, prosecutors in the case released three clips recorded by Cruz on his mobile phone, in which he lashes out at classmates and lays out detailed plans for a massacre at his former high school.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“My name is Nik and I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018,” he says in one clip. “My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15.”
Chillingly, many of the details in his violent fantasy - such as a comment that he would arrive at the school in an Uber - actually came to pass on the 14 February rampage.
“I’ll go into the school campus, walk up the stairs, load my bags and get my AR and shoot people down at [...] the main courtyard and people will die,” he said in the video.
In another clip, possibly recorded on the day of the attack, he said: “Today is the day, the day it all begins… All the kids in the school will run in fear and hide.”
The videos “will almost certainly bolster the prosecution's efforts to convict Cruz, 19, of first-degree murder, a capital offence”, says The Miami Herald.
“It shows premeditation,” Penny Brill, a retired Miami-Dade assistant state attorney told the newspaper. “It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision to shoot.”
Cruz had been diagnosed with emotional and behavioural problems, which led to his expulsion from Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 2017. The videos “paint a portrait of a rage-filled teen lashing out”, says the New York Post.
“I hate everyone and everything,” he said in one clip, describing his life as “meaningless”.
He said fellow students had been “brainwashed” by the government and accused them of treating him like an “idiot”.
“You’re all going to die. Pew pew pew. Can’t wait,” he said.
Cruz, who confessed to investigators, faces 17 charges of murder and 17 charges of attempted murder. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty. “At age 19, he would be the youngest death row inmate in the state,” says CNN.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - March 29, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - my way or Norway, running orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 tactically sound cartoons about the leaked Signal chat
Cartoons Artists take on the clown signal, baby steps, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Teenage girl kills 2 in Wisconsin school shooting
Speed Read 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Father of alleged Georgia school shooter arrested
Speed Read The 14-year-old's father was arrested in connection with the deaths of two teachers and two students
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Teen kills 4 in Georgia high school shooting
Speed Read A student shot and killed two classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Uvalde parents want indictments after DOJ's scathing school shooting report
Speed Read The Justice Department's damning review of the May 2022 school shooting in Texas details 'cascading failures,' but families of the victims want justice
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Local TV reporter covering Nashville school shooting had survived shooting at her own high school
Speed Read
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
6 killed in school shooting in Nashville
Speed Read
By Brigid Kennedy Published