The Associated Press is reporting that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who killed 17 people, legally purchased an AR-15 rifle about a year ago.
That AR-15 is suspected to the the weapon he used to open fire on Wednesday morning.
The official who informed the AP is reportedly familiar with the investigation into the school shooting but not authorized to discuss it publicly. The AP says the officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
Federal law allows people 18 and over to legally purchase long guns. That means that Americans in morst states can purchase an assault rifle before they can legally drink alcohol.
At 21, people can legally buy handguns from a licensed dealer.
Aside from people familiar with the accused shooter saying that he showed a fixation with weaponry, Cruz's social media accounts were flooded with a series of disturbing posts about guns and knives.
You can see some of his posts below, but be aware that they are troubling.
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His account, @Cruz_Nikolas, has since been deleted.
Cruz had at least two Instagram pages. They showed show a fixation with guns and knives. In one, the profile picture includes a MAGA hat.
In another, the page contained a photo of a dead toad and the caption, “These things killed my dog. So I kill them pretty much. #killingtoads.” His Instagram profile contained the word: “Annihilator.”