Accused South Florida school shooter confessed to rampage that killed 17, police say

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

PARKLAND, Fla. — The 19-year-old accused of gunning down 17 people at his former high school admitted to carrying out the shooting rampage, authorities said in court papers filed Thursday.

Police wrote that Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, told officers that he walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday wielding an AR-15 and began shooting students in the hallways and outside on the school’s grounds.

Once students began to flee the carnage, Cruz dropped his rifle and vest packed with additional ammunition “so he could blend into the crowd,” an officer wrote in a probable cause affidavit. Cruz had taken an Uber to the school, officials wrote, so he fled on foot along with those running from the gunfire. An officer found him not long after walking on a residential street.

The revelations came as police vowed to make sure that “justice is served” after one of the country’s deadliest school shootings. A day after the Valentine’s Day shooting rampage, authorities had not publicly announced a motivation for the carnage, but they were digging into elements of Cruz’s troubled past, including a pattern of disciplinary issues and unnerving behavior.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/15/florida-school-shooting-suspect-booked-on-17-counts-of-murder-premeditated/?wpmk=1&wpisrc=al_news__alert-national

[BigmanPigman]

1. Did he think he would walk home and have milk and cookies!?

The news reported earlier that the police said he is aware of what happened, that people are dead and he feels a little badly now.

***I just heard on the news that the shooter left the school, went and got a Slurpee, then went to McDonald's and sat down and ate his meal then continued walking when a policeman saw him and arrested him.

[LisaM]

2. Is it possible to hide an AR-15 so the Uber driver wouldn't have seen it?

Of course, if I was supposed to pick someone up who was carrying a large gun, I'd probably not argue with the person, but I'm more than a little curious to hear about the Uber driver who picked up someone loaded with guns and ammunition and drove him to a school.

I'm not in any way, shape, or form blaming the driver here - I don't know much about guns, so I'm genuinely curious to know if the shooter could have hidden his arsenal that easily.

Thanks in advance for this information.

[monmouth4]

3. That really jumped out at me too. Some sort of carrying bag to look like a tennis bag or something.

[cannabis_flower]

4. Or ..

Perhaps just a large rectangular box. Or perhaps something like this

https://www.google.com/search?q=discreet+ar15+case&oq=ar-15+dis&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.11348j0j7&client=tablet-android-lenovo&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=cnvFSCtWstQvsM:

[monmouth4]

5. Would definitely work..

[lunasun]

6. sure below .No driver is going to demand you open your bag before giving you a ride

[LisaM]

8. Thanks, that is the kind of information I was seeking.

I don't know how large a gun it is. If he had a case like the above, it would also make sense that he was going to a school, as if he was going to play after-school sports or something.

[AtheistCrusader]

19. You could fit quite a lot of different types of firearms in that bag without even dissasembling them

Not much the uber or lyft driver could have done. Lucky the asshat didn't kill the driver and take his car.

[lunasun]

20. Why would the driver even suspect anything ? A young man with the destination a high school

Not like he was carrying it in his lap or loading in the car. He got in the school without notice by blending in and loaded there per reports

Another person probably shaken by the killings knowing that they gave the killer a ride

[LisaM]

21. Oh, I know. I wasn't trying to blame the driver.

I always thought that about Dr. Kervorkian too, what kind of trauma was he inflicting on hotel maids by doing assisted suicide in hotel rooms and then just leaving the bodies there? That aspect of his work always haunted me.

[Aristus]

7. The AR-15 has a shorter barrel than a military M-16, and a telescoping stock.

It's much easier to conceal that way. One of its virtues from the point-of-view of gun enthusiasts, no doubt.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Incorrect.

Both the M-16 and the AR-15 have the same features in this regard. The M16A2E2 variant has the same collapsing stock you normally associate with the AR-15.

I own one. The only difference between mine and the M-16 carbine, is the internal guts that allow it to fire 2-3 round burst. Because mine was made before 1986, I could install M-16 parts inside it, and it would function the same as a true M-16.

Please don't spread misinformation. This issue is important to resolve, and misinformation helps no one.

[Aristus]

10. I wasn't talking about a variant.

I was talking about the military-issue M16's, M16A1's, and M16A2's that I trained with in the Army. Not whatever it was infantrymen would stick in the firing ports of their Bradleys (back when they could still do that), not whatever they issue counterinsurgency troops these days.

I'm talking about the M16s that you find in every arms-room in the US military.

[NickB79]

12. M16's aren't in many arms rooms anymore

Almost all have been swapped out for M4's, which do have a shorter barrel and collapsing stock. Even the scout sniper platforms are just M4's with longer barrels and flattop rails for optics.

Last time M16's saw much combat was the first Gulf War.

[oneshooter]

13. I believe that the Marine Corps still issue the M16a3. 20"barrel.

[AtheistCrusader]

17. Times have changed.

Though I was referring to a variant that was mostly used by/issued to paratroopers. Mine is short like the M4, but still has the M16A2 style carry handle/rear sight rail. I can't exactly conceal it in my pants or anything, but granted it is quite a bit more compact than my US M1917.

Those old M16A1/2's aren't really sitting around in armories anymore. As the other poster replied, mostly you'll see M4's.

Two push pins off your era's M16A1 and you could fit it in two pieces in a yoga mat bag no sweat... 5-10 seconds unobserved and it's re-assembled...

I kind of hate discussing how very easy these things are, don't want anyone to get ideas, but the idea that the Civilian AR's length is much of a factor at all, is not terribly likely. ANY firearm in the environment he entered, is devastating, and cannot be tolerated. Even a pair of Colt Army Model 1860 civil war era percussion pistols, would rain hell in an environment like that.

This is a REALLY big problem. Maybe we can make some gains by focusing on the AR/variant platforms (and that might well be worth doing), but it won't solve the problem.

[Brother Buzz]

11. An AR-15, like the M-16, can be broken down in about five seconds

and reassembled in eight seconds. Maybe fifteen seconds in complete darkness.

[IronLionZion]

14. It could fit disassembled in a backpack

or fully assembled in a sports duffle bag that many high school athletes would have.

Those types of guns can be much shorter than hunting rifles

[AtheistCrusader]

18. That one looks a bit too short to be legal as a rifle.

Is that setup as a SBR or a AR Pistol? Guessing SBR since it has a stock...