Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder following a Wednesday shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Cruz was booked into the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale at around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, where he will be held without bond.
He faced Broward Circuit Court judge Kim Theresa Mollica at around 2 p.m. on the same afternoon.
“You are charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder,” the judge said. “I have something very important to tell you. You’re charged with some very serious crimes. You have the right to remain silent.”
The gunman was escorted into the jail by sheriff’s deputies. He was still wearing the same hospital gown he was seen in Wednesday night, when he was transferred from the hospital to Broward Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel released a timeline of the events that occurred:
- The suspect exited the school stairwell, pulling the rifle out of a backpack at 2:21 p.m.
- The suspect readied his rifle and began shooting into rooms
- He then took the west stairwell to the second floor and shot one victim
- He then took the east stairwell to the third floor
Based on the timeline of events the sheriff shared, the shooter was inside the school for only about seven minutes.
“He dropped his rifle and backpack,” said Israel, “ran down the stairs, exited Building 12 and ran toward the tennis courts. He crossed fields and ran west along with others who were fleeing.”