The former student who gunned down 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, recorded his plans on three cellphone videos, saying in one that he would try to kill at least 20 people.
According to newly released transcripts of the videos obtained from a source close to the investigation, Nikolas Cruz details how he will carry out the shooting.
“I’m gonna go take Uber in the afternoon before 2:40 (p.m.). From there I’ll go into — onto school campus, walk up the stairs, unload my bags and get my AR and shoot people down at the man — what is it? — the main courtyard, wait, and people will die,” he says.
(Chilling video has emerged showing the suspected gunman who killed 17 people and wounded 17 more at a Florida high school in February bragging about his plans to carry out the massacre. ‘When you see me on the news you’ll know who I am,’ Nikolas Cruz says while laughing creepily in three separate clips recorded on his cell phone. ‘You’re all going to die. Pew pew pew. I can’t wait.’ The video clips were released by Florida prosecutors. Courtesy of Daily Mail and YouTube. Posted on May 30, 2018)
Investigators discovered the videos on the gunman’s cellphone, which was taken into evidence after the shooting. The videos are listed on the prosecution’s discovery list.
Authorities didn’t say when the videos were recorded.
“He knew what he was doing,” said Andrew Pollack, father of Meadow Pollack, a senior who was killed.
Pollack said that Cruz, whom he refers to as “18-1958” (Cruz’s case number), won’t be able to claim at trial that he was insane or that he didn’t know what he was doing.
“It’s all premeditated murder.”
Pollack, who had not seen the recordings at the time of his CNN interview, said of the killer: “He was going to be laughing while he was doing it. He laughed in the videos (according to the transcripts).
(Andrew Pollack, father of teen killed in Parkland shooting, speaks out on ‘The Story’ about the need to protect the perimeters of schools. Courtesy of Fox News and YouTube. Posted on May 18, 2018)
“And he just planned how he was going floor to floor and shoot these, shoot my daughter, and shot her nine times.”
Pollack said he felt conflicted about the release of the videos. He doesn’t want the shooter to get more publicity, but he believes the recordings are very important evidence.
On February 14, Cruz used an AR-15-style rifle to kill 17 people and wound 17 others.
In the videos, the gunman says he wants to massacre at least 20 people with his semiautomatic rifle and he will become notorious and well-known.
He describes himself in one recording as being alone and his life as “meaningless.”
Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student, roamed the hallways of the 1200 building on campus February 14 for several minutes, targeting victims huddled in classrooms on the first and second floors, killing 14 students and three school employees in one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern US history.
He confessed to the crimes, police said.
(PBS NewsHour remembers each of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School , including the teachers who helped save students’ lives. Courtesy of PBS NewsHour and YouTube. Posted on Feb 16, 2018)
A Broward County grand jury indicted the 19-year-old Cruz in March on 17 counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree.
A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf during his arraignment.
Broward County prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty despite his attorney’s offer of a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence.
If a jury condemns the gunman to die, it will take years for the execution to be carried out. At age 19, he would be the youngest death row inmate in the state.
Florida has 347 people on death row, and has executed 96 people since 1976. So far this year, the state has executed one person.
CNN’s Dianne Gallagher and Meridith Edwards reported from Parkland and CNN’s Jamiel Lynch and Steve Almasy reported and wrote in Atlanta.
Original post https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/30/us/florida-parkland-nikolas-cruz-videos/index.html
Editor’s note: American Security Today (AST) is a publication specifically designed for Government Security professionals, Public Safety professionals, and Security professionals.
The purpose of including this piece is for the edification of those professionals so that together, we may learn how to better identify potential threats, and work to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate violent attacks, major disasters and other emergencies.
Our thoughts, prayers and concerns stand firmly behind the victim’s families of all acts of senseless violence.
AST focuses on Homeland Security and Public Safety Breaking News, along with the Newest Initiatives Technologies in Physical & IT Security, essential to meeting today’s growing security threats, one city at a time.
Parents of Parkland Victims are Outraged about a New Video Game that Would Let Players Shoot Up a School
By Andrea Diaz, CNN
Politicians and parents of slain students in Parkland, Florida, are expressing outrage about a forthcoming video game in which players can simulate being an active shooter to terrorize a school.
The game, “Active Shooter,” is set to be released June 6 on Steam, a gaming platform owned by Valve Corp., a video game developer based in Washington state.
The game was developed by Revived Games and published by a Russian company called Acid, which plans to sell the game for between $5 and $10 on the Steam platform.
Marketing materials for the game say players will be able to choose between portraying a SWAT team member responding to a shooting or portraying an actual shooter whose objective is to “hunt and destroy.”
(New ‘Active Shooter’ Video Games Raises Concern & Sparks Backlash. Courtesy of CBS Miami and YouTube. Posted on May 28, 2018)
A fierce backlash
Despicable. Let @steam_games know games depicting “active shooter” scenarios in schools, where players shoot civilians, students & law enforcement are unacceptable. https://t.co/7utMvVqYzT
— Ryan Petty (@rpetty) May 27, 2018
“It’s disgusting that Valve Corp. is trying to profit from the glamorization of tragedies affecting our schools across the country,” Petty said in a statement.
“Keeping our kids safe is a real issue affecting our communities and is in no way a ‘game.'”
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime also died in the Parkland shooting, is urging people to boycott the game.
“This company should face the wrath of everyone who cares about school and public safety and it should start immediately. Do not buy this game for your kids or any other game made by this company,” he tweeted.
Bill Nelson, the senior US Senator from Florida, also criticized the game Monday.
“This is inexcusable. Any company that develops a game like this in wake of such a horrific tragedy should be ashamed of itself,” he tweeted.
More than 25,000 people have signed an online petition urging Valve not to release the game.
“This is horrific,” wrote Stephanie Robinett, a Seattle-area woman who created the petition.
This is inexcusable. Any company that develops a game like this in wake of such a horrific tragedy should be ashamed of itself. https://t.co/jjp6LxNWhC
— Senator Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) May 28, 2018
The developer’s response
“Active Shooter” is not the first video game to simulate a school shooting scenario. But it may be the first new such game since 27 people died in recent mass shootings at high schools in Parkland and Santa Fe, Texas, heightening discussions around preventing gun violence in schools.
The game’s Steam page includes a statement that reads, “Please do not take any of this seriously. This is only meant to be the simulation and nothing else. If you feel like hurting someone or people around you, please seek help from local psychiatrists or dial 911.”
“Active Shooter’s” developer also posted a disclaimer on a preview for the game, saying its content is not recommended for children.
“Revived Games believes violence and inappropriate actions belong in video games and not (in the) real world, and insists that in no event should anyone attempt to recreate or mimic any of the actions, events or situations occurring in this game,” it said.
Revived Games did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Valve removes ‘Active Shooter’ video game from Steam. Courtesy of News 4 Tucson KVOA-TV and YouTube. Posted on May 29, 2018)
In an update posted on Steam last week, Acid said that intense criticism of the game has made them reconsider whether to publish it with the option allowing gamers to assume the role of the shooter.
“I have wrote to Valve regarding this game and (am) waiting for the reply,” the update said.
“After receiving such high amount of critics and hate, I will more likely remove the shooters role in this game by the release, unless if it can be kept as it is right now.”
Original post https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/28/us/active-shooter-video-game-steam-valve-trnd/index.html
