Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who carried out the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, plead guilty to 17 counts of murder in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom on Wednesday.
“To count one of the indictment, murder in the first degree of victim Luke Hoyer, how do you wish to plead?” asked Judge Elizabeth Scherer.
“Guilty,” replied Cruz.
In court, Cruz claimed that he was experiencing anxiety, but was able to proceed. Cruz faces a minimum of life imprisonment and a maximum of the death penalty. After pleading guilty, he apologized to the victims and families in a brief speech.
‘I am very sorry for what I did, and I have to live with it every day. And that if I were to get a second chance, I will do everything my power to try to help others…” stated Cruz.
Some parents of students were dissatisfied, calling the apology “ridiculous” and Cruz, “clearly a very dangerous man.”
Cruz was placed in handcuffs, fingerprinted and escorted from the courtroom. Jury selection in the penalty phase is scheduled for January 4.