A former student who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons opened fire at a South Florida high school Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding at least a dozen others, authorities said.

The suspected gunman, Nikolas Cruz, 19, was quickly arrested “without incident” after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said. Cruz had made “disturbing” posts on social media before the attack, Israel said.

Cruz was armed with at least one AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and “countless magazines,” said Israel, who did not suggest a possible motive. Officials think he acted alone.

“This has been a day we’ve seen the worst of humanity,” said Broward County Public Schools Supt. Robert Runcie.


Florida Gov. Rick Scott said the investigation would attempt to determine how a former high school student came to be armed with such a powerful weapon. “You come to the conclusion that this is just absolutely pure evil,” he said.

Several students reported first hearing gunshots after someone pulled a fire alarm shortly before the end of school. Initially, they were confused. The school had held a fire drill earlier in the day.

Students were walking out of math teacher Jim Gard’s classroom when a “code red” was announced over the school intercom — a warning about an active shooter. Most of Gard’s students had already left, and he was only able to get six of them back into the classroom. He turned off the lights and locked the door.

Then, he said, “We heard all the popping noises.”


Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) told MSNBC that Cruz wore a gas mask and brought smoke grenades with him. Cruz set off the fire alarm “so the kids would come out into the hallways, and thus he had the opportunity with a crowded hallway to start picking off people,” Nelson said.

Cruz initially escaped by folding into the crowd, Broward County authorities said in a news release. “Responding deputies were met with hundreds of students fleeing the school. Investigators later learned that the shooter had concealed himself in the crowd and was among those running out of the school,” it said.

Fifteen victims died at the school and two others died at a hospital, police said.

Cruz was taken to a hospital as a “precaution” after exhibiting “labored breathing” when he was taken into custody in a neighborhood in nearby Coral Springs, authorities said.


Hannah Siren, 14, was in math class on the third floor of the freshman building, where at least part of the shooting happened.

“The people next door to us must have not locked their door,” said Hannah, breaking into tears. “They all got shot” — seven to 10 victims, she said.

Samuel Dykes, a freshman, added that he heard gunshots and saw several bodies in a classroom on the third floor.

Another student told WSVN-TV that when she ran into a classroom on the third floor to hide, a geography teacher opened the door to let her in, and when he started closing it, the teacher “was shot and killed right there,” she said. “The door was open, [the gunman] could have walked in at any time.” The students hid in the corner and survived.


“He kind of shielded them,” one of his students, Christina Vega, told the television station. “He actually stepped up.”

Christina added: “I don’t want to go back to this school. I can’t go up the stairs. There’s blood on the stairs.”

Throughout the school, students barricaded themselves inside classrooms and closets. In one classroom video that went viral on social media, students cowered beneath desks, sobbing and screaming as repeated gunshots can be heard nearby.

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” a student cried out.


Jude Lenamon, 15, was in his ninth-grade English class reviewing a chapter of “To Kill a Mockingbird” when the fire alarm went off. “At first we thought it was a fire,” he said.

The class followed the teacher outside to a football field, where hundreds of students had gathered. They heard five or six shots.

“Doesn’t that sound like gunshots?” Jude asked his teacher.

“Yeah, maybe,” the teacher answered.


Jude’s friends started crying. The crowd was ushered toward a fence. Each of the hundreds of students needed to go through a small gap in the fence to get to a parking lot, and a huge backup developed. Police were arriving and helicopters hovering.

“Everybody started panicking and trying to get out,” Jude said. Many of the students started hopping the fence rather than wait in line. He recalled telling a friend, “It’s going to be OK. Stay calm.”

“People were definitely scared,” he said.

Freshman Aidan Minoff live-tweeted the shooting from inside the classroom where he was hunkered down with others. “My school is being shot up and I am locked inside. I’m … scared right now,” he wrote.


Another student posted a disturbing video of the shooting, capturing the thunder of the gunfire and the screams of students scrambling for cover.

Law enforcement personnel and ambulances swarmed to the school. Some students evacuated by walking in a chain with their hands on the shoulders of the students in front of them.


Emergency workers appeared to be treating victims for injuries on sidewalks outside the school. Parents gathered at the perimeter, some of them Christians with ash on their foreheads for Ash Wednesday, some wearing hearts to mark Valentine’s Day.

Victims were taken to Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North hospital. By nightfall, officials had identified 12 of the 17 victims, and Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi promised the state would pay for each of the victims’ funerals.

The task of identification was made difficult by students who were killed without their backpacks or cellphones, officials said.

1 / 41 Abigail Avioa, a senior at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, her back to camera, is prayed over in front of the school on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 41 People come to pay their respects and leave flowers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were killed in a mass shooting last week. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 41 Bicycles still remain on campus as people come to pay their respects and leave flowers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were killed in a mass shooting last week. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 41 Brandon Sanchez, 9, prays with his father Victor Sanchez, center, of Coral Springs, Fla., along with other family members and friends in front of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 41 Hearts with the names of some of those killed are hung on the fence at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 41 Lauren Fitzsimmons, 12, left, and Ed Staszeski pray during a service at First Church Coral Springs where prayers were said for the victims of the high school shooting. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 41 Pastor Vance Rains leads prayers for the victims of the school shooting at First Church Coral Springs. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 41 Students gathered at the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Florida to remember those where were killed and injured in the shooting. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 41 Isabella Cristancho, 14, left, Valentina Piedrahita, 14, and Paula Mantilla, 13, far right, protest on a corner not far from Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where a gunman killed 17 dead and injured 14 in a school shooting. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 41 Family members greet one another as they arrive for the memorial and burial for Meadow Paddock, age 18, one of the shooting victims at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 41 Sarah Cardenas, age 38, brings some of her students from Classical Conversation (home school) in Boca Raton to the memorial for the victims of the shooting at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where a gunman killed 17 dead and injured 14 in a school shooting. “We came to pay our respects and pray,” says Cardenas. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times) (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 41 Isaah Jean, age 14, is a freshman at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School and was in the freshman building and saw the gunman. The only thing he thought to do was throw his phone at the gunman. He fractured his ankle trying to run from the shooting and is now on crutches. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 41 Mourners hold a prayer vigil for victims at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla. (Rhona Wise / AFP/Getty Images) 14 / 41 Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 41 Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 41 Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 41 Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 41 Antonina Messina, 17, a student at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School, left, attends a vigil with her mother Clara Messina, center, and brothter, Matteo Messina, right. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 41 Students gather for a memorial at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla., one day after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 41 Broward County school board members Robin Bartleman, left, and Rosalind Osgood, second from left, and Chaplain Robert Ossler of the City of Cape Coral Fire/Emergency Department, pray for the victims of the mass shooting after a news conference. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 41 Balloons are released Thursday at the end of a vigil for victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 41 Marla Eveillard, 14, grieves with friends before the start of a community prayer vigil in Coral Springs, Fla. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 41 Reunited relatives leave the Marriott Coral Springs Hotel on Wednesday night after a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Matt McClain / Washington Post) 24 / 41 Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooting there killed 17 people. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 25 / 41 Parents meet at a hotel to pick up their children after the shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. (Jim Rassol / South Florida Sun-Sentinel) 26 / 41 Students released from a lockdown embrace after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel) 27 / 41 Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the lockdown ended. (John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel ) 28 / 41 People are brought out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a gunman opened fire Wednesday. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) 29 / 41 Students are escorted by police following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel) 30 / 41 Parents wait for news after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday. (Joel Auerbach / Associated Press) 31 / 41 Parents and family members gather south of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus following a shooting in Parkland, Fla. (Amy Beth Bennett / Associated Press) 32 / 41 Anxious family members wait for news of students after a shooting at the school in Broward County in southeast Florida. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 33 / 41 Medical personnel tend to a victim after the mass shooting. (John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel ) 34 / 41 People gather waiting for word from students following the mass shooting. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel ) 35 / 41 A law enforcement officer rushes toward Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting at the school in Parkland, Fla. (John McCall / Associated Press) 36 / 41 Anxious family members wait south of the campus at which more than 3,000 students are enrolled. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel ) 37 / 41 In this frame grab from video provided by WPLG-TV, students follow law enforcement out of the building. (Associated Press) 38 / 41 Family members embrace a student who was released from the school. A shooting at the school sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 39 / 41 A law enforcement officer tells anxious family members to move back after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 40 / 41 Anxious family members wait for information on students in Parkland, Fla. Multiple deaths were reported Wednesday as gunfire broke out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) 41 / 41 Students hold their hands up as they are evacuated on Wednesday, in a frame grab from WPLG-TV. (Associated Press)


Helicopter footage from WSVN-TV showed police detaining a suspect with short hair and a dark red shirt and dark pants. The person was handcuffed and put in the back of a police car without apparent struggle.

Other students spoke to WSVN-TV after fleeing the campus.

“Three shots happened, and then everyone started freaking out,” said one student, who identified himself as Sebastian. “We all thought it was a fire drill.... No one was that nervous, but when word started going around that it was shots … everybody started running.”

Another student who declined to give her name reported hearing “five pops” after someone pulled a fire alarm.


“Kids were freaking out. Some kids froze; some were on their phones. Some were trying to Snapchat because they thought it was a joke, and it wasn’t,” she said.

(@latimesgraphics)

One student claimed to have met the gunman at an off-campus learning center after getting kicked out of school.

“He’s been a troubled kid, and he’s always had a certain amount of issues going on,” the student told WSVN-TV, saying the suspect previously had shown him pictures of guns on his cellphone. “I stayed clear of him” in the alternative school because “I didn’t want to be with him at all … because of the impression he gave off.”


The student added another concern: The suspected gunman had probably participated in the school’s active-shooter drills. “He’s been in the drills multiple times, so he knows where to go.”

Cruz was one of Gard’s students for a semester last year, but there was nothing strange about him, the teacher said. “He was quiet in class. I never had any problems.”

Investigators are now likely to examine how long the gunman was planning the shooting.

“It is clear [the] attack was designed & executed to maximize loss of life,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted after receiving a briefing from federal investigators. “In days ahead will become increasingly evident that [the] killer in today’s #FloridaSchoolShooting gave plenty of indications of what was to come.”


An Instagram account belonging to “cruz_nikolas” was taken down shortly after the shooting. The account included photos of a young man wearing U.S. Army hats posing with guns and knives, his face mostly concealed.

In posts, he appeared to be feuding with others, talked about background checks and plans to purchase a rifle he would outfit with a scope “for hunting.” Posts included a photo of the definition of the Arabic phrase Allahu Akbar, “God is Great” — with the poster’s own mocking caption, including an anti-Muslim slur. Another post included a target riddled with bullet holes labeled “Group Therapy.”

The attack was the eighth-deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, with seven of the 10 deadliest happening since 2007.

President Trump tweeted about the shooting and said he had spoken to Gov. Scott.


“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,” Trump tweeted. “We are working closely with law enforcement on the terrible Florida school shooting.”

Times staff writers Pearce, Cosgrove and Finnegan reported from Los Angeles and Hennessy-Fiske from Houston. David Fleshler, Aric Chokey, Lisa J. Huriash and Linda Trischitta contributed from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

UPDATES:


8:45 p.m.: This article was updated with information about the arrest of the gunman and additional details on fatalities.

8:10 p.m.: This article was updated with an additional witness account.

7:50 p.m.: This article was updated with social media postings on the shooting.

7:20 p.m.: This article was updated with an additional witness account.


6:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from state officials and law enforcement officers.

4:35 p.m.: This article was updated with information on other mass shootings.

3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with authorities identifying the suspect and saying 17 people were killed.

3:25 p.m.: This article was updated with an additional student account and the latest information from authorities on the suspect and victims.


2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with new information on victims and additional reaction.

1:25 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.

12:20 p.m. This article was updated with details from the scene.

This article was originally published at 12:05 p.m.