Nikolas Cruz’s killing spree occurred on February 18, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Then, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at the school. At the time, the massacre became the deadliest school shooting in United States history. This past February was the seventh anniversary of the tragedy. Families affected continue to honor their loved ones who died at the shooting, and they continue to make moves for school safety and gun legislation along with the survivors. Cruz was a former student of the school and had past behavioral issues.

The Tragic Day at Parkland

Dressed in a maroon shirt with the school logo, he arrived outside the school with a backpack full of magazines. He also carried a duffel bag packed with his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, which he bought legally. The staff was warned about Cruz’s behavior after his expulsion the year before the shooting. The last class of school that day was due to end at 2:40 p.m., so the gates were already opened for Nikolas to arrive at 2:19 p.m. In December, there was a school shooting at a Christian School in Wisconsin, and the shooter was a 15-year-old student at the school.

Cruz walked to the bottom of the east stairwell of building 12, where he removed his high-powered rifle from his bag. During that time, Nikolas was preparing his weapon to commit the horrific Parkland massacre. As Cruz prepared his firearm, Christopher McKenna walked down the east stairwell to go to the bathroom. As McKenna directly looked at Nikolas holding his gun, Nikolas said, “You better get out of here, something bad is about to happen.” Once Nikolas loaded his weapon, he began his killing spree on the first floor of the building.

McKenna then ran off to look for a campus monitor. Cruz then opened fire at the four students present in the hallway of building 12. Nikolas wounded Ashley Baez as she was walking away from him. He killed his first murdered victim, Gina Montalto, 14, as she was sitting outside classroom 1215 to get some work done. He then killed Martin Duque Anguiano, 14, and Luke Hoyer, 15, who were going back to class. Cruz went to class 1216, where an English class was taking place, and 24 students were in that class.

He fired shots through the window on the door, hitting and killing Alex Schachter, 14, who was seated at his desk. Cruz then took a Black Tactical Vest out of his bag and reloaded his weapon. After reloading, Nikolas walked to classroom 1214 and fired into the glass window just like he did at classroom 1216. About 30 students were in that classroom, and Cruz killed Helena Ramsay, 17, and Nicholas Dorwet, 17. He wounded Samantha Grady, Samantha Fuentes, Isabelle Checker, and Daniela Menescal. 

Parkland KIlling Spree Continues

The shots were so loud that dust started falling from the ceiling tiles when Cruz began shooting his rifle. The fire alarm started ringing because of the loud shots at that point. Cruz retired to room 1216, firing shots at the already shattered window, killing Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, and Alana Petty, 14, and wounding Justin Colton, William Olsen, Genesis Valentine, Kheshava Mangapuram, and Alexander Dorwet, the brother of Nicholas Dorwet. Around this time, the Coral Springs Police Department received their first 911 call of an active shooter at the high school in Parkland.

Scott Peterson, an armed officer, was on site and ran toward building 12. As Cruz moved West, the school’s Athletic Director and Wrestling Coach, Chris Hixon, ran through the west side door of the corridor to help save the students. Cruz fired shots at Hixon, and Hixon crawled away for safety. After firing shots at Hixon, Nicholas walked past Gina, Luke, and Martin and fired shots at them again. Cruz then walked to classroom 1213, where a psychology classic was held.

He fired into the glass window, striking and killing Carmen Schentrup, 16, and wounding Maddy Wilford, Samantha Mayor, and Benjamin Wikander. Cruz continued his killing spree West and shot into Hixon again, killing him. Peterson made his first radio transmission as Nikolas went to the west stairwell of Building 12. Gym teacher Aaron Feis, 37, was alerted of the shooting by Mckenna and ran to help others to safety. Feis rushed into the building to protect students from gunfire and was shot twice.

Feis fell at the base of the stairs, and Cruz fired shots into rooms 1232 and 1234, but no one was struck in either room. As students were rushing out, Cruz hit and killed teacher Scott Biegel, 35, who was helping students to safety. Stacey Lippel was wounded by gunfire as she closed a classroom door. Cara Loughlin, 14, and Meadow Pollack, 18, were shot in front of classroom 1249 and crawled away for safety. Kyle Laman, Marian Kabachenko, Anthony Borges, and Joaquin Oliver were all wounded by the gunfire.

As students ran down the hallway, Cruz reloaded his weapon and fired again, killing Jamie Guttenberg, 14, and Peter Wang, 15. As the shooter passed Meadow and Cara, he fired shots into them again, killing them both. He then killed Oliver, 17, outside room 1247. Nikolas fired at Wang again and shot him 13 times. Continuing his Parkland massacre, Cruz went into the teachers’ lounge and fired shots outside the West windows. The killer was trying to set up a sniper’s nest to shoot people as they left the premises. However, no one was wounded or killed by his shots by that time.

Shooting Aftermath

Cruz left the teacher’s lounge, passing the bodies of Wang and Guttenberg as he exited the stairwell. He dropped his rifle and backpack to rush out of the school grounds. Once Cruz left school, Cruz went to Walmart to purchase a drink and a Subway. Nikolas then went to McDonald’s and bumped into John Wilford, the brother of Maddy Wilford, who was wounded by the gunfire. Cruz was spotted shortly after he left McDonalds and was arrested on the spot. Police and SWAT team members surrounded the school and began clearing surviving students.

The Parkland murdered victims are as follows: Alyssa Alhadeff, Martin Duque Anguiano, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Gina Montalto, Alaina Petty, Helena Ramsay, Alexander Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, Scott Beigel, Jaime Guttenberg, Cara Loughran, Joaquin Oliver, Meadow Pollack, and Peter Wang. Peterson, who was assigned to the school that tragic day, was accused of retreating during the shooting.

He was arrested in June 2019 and faced culpable negligence, perjury, and neglect of a child charges. In the days after the Parkland massacre, people chanted, “No More Guns!” at candlelight vigils, and thousands of people showed up at funerals. Student survivors flooded social media to urge action against gun violence. Once, student David Hogg went from school newspaper reporter to activist when his strong message to legislators via CNN interview went viral. Nikolas pled guilty to all 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Students took action and formed Never Again MSD, an anti-gun violence organization and political committee. On March 24, 2018, the MSD and others organized the March For Our Lives demonstration in unity for gun violence prevention. Students and other advocates who have been affected by gun violence held a rally in Washington, DC, speaking to large crowds demanding change. The MSD went across the country during the summer and fall of 2018 and garnered much support.

Final Thoughts

The United States has, unfortunately, seen its share of school shootings since the 1999 Columbine massacre. It has gotten so bad that extremist researchers have expressed concerns about a growing trend among young people embracing mass violence. Since Columbine, there have been groups of people obsessed with mass killings going on social media platforms. The True Crime Community (TCC) has online groups of people engaging in deep details about mass killings, the background of perpetrators, and how they committed attacks. Some users share fan fiction inspired by real-life shootings. How to solve gun violence in America continues to be a fierce debate among Americans today.