FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The former student who was accused of shooting and killing 17 people at his high school in Parkland, Fla., in 2018 plans to plead guilty to 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, one of his lawyers said on Friday.
The rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, killed 14 students and three faculty members, one of the deadliest shootings in American history. Seventeen other people were wounded.
The former student, Nikolas Cruz, who was 19 at the time and had a history of mental health and behavior problems, used a semiautomatic rifle that he had legally bought to carry out the assault, according to the police.
“It is our intent to enter a change of plea as to both cases to all charges,” David Wheeler, one of Mr. Cruz’s lawyers, said in court on Friday.
Mr. Cruz, now 23, appeared in court shortly after and pleaded guilty to battery and other charges in a separate case related to a fight with a sheriff’s deputy in jail.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she would schedule a hearing for Wednesday at 9 a.m. for Mr. Cruz to change his plea in the Parkland shooting case.
The next step would be a penalty phase before a jury in which Mr. Cruz’s lawyers would attempt to avoid a death sentence and argue instead for life in prison. Prosecutors have vowed to pursue the death penalty and said there have been no plea negotiations in the case.
Mr. Cruz appeared in court on Friday wearing a mask, large glasses and a dark sweater over a white collared shirt. He told the judge that he was feeling nervous but that he was thinking clearly and understood the proceedings. When Judge Scherer asked Mr. Cruz if he had any mental issues, he said that he had been told in the past that he suffered from anxiety and depression, but that he felt ready to proceed with Friday’s hearing.
“I don’t believe I have any issues,” he said. He said he had not taken any medication in the past year. Editors’ Picks Did You See That Video of the Subway Rat Hauling the Crab? 16 Slow Cooker Recipes That You Can Prep and Forget The Cruel Paradox of Linda Evangelista’s Fate Continue reading the main story
The announcement of planned guilty pleas follows years of witness interviews and other preparations for an emotionally grueling trial that had been expected to last months.
Before the shooting, Mr. Cruz recorded three videos on his cellphone that indicated that he, like many youthful perpetrators of mass shootings, wanted his name to be remembered.
“When you see me on the news, you’ll all know who I am,” he said on one video. “You’re all going to die.”
The shooting led thousands of students who had grown up in an era of school shooting drills and lockdowns to walk out of their classrooms and march for tougher gun control laws and an end to gun violence. Some of the marches were led by teenagers who had survived the Parkland shooting and who quickly emerged as leaders of a younger generation of activists.
Members of March for Our Lives, an organization founded by some survivors of the shooting, said they were “appalled and disgusted” that lawmakers had not done more to reduce gun violence in the wake of the tragedy.