Stoneman Douglas High School: What Happened
January 25, 2019
Most people are very aware of the school shooting the occurred at ‘Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’ in Parkland Florida on February 14, 2018, but that’s all that many students know.
The nineteen-year-old gunman, Nikolas Cruz, who had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas High prior to this day, arrived at the school in an Uber that Wednesday. Cruz Pulled the fire alarm to get students and teachers out into the halls and used his AR-15 assault rifle to kill 17 students and staff members and to wound 17 more. Cruz wore a protective vest, and a gas mask and carried smoke grenades.
Following his horrific act, Cruz then dropped his vest, mask and his rifle, blended in with the chaotic crowd of fleeing people, and ran off the campus to a Walmart, purchased a drink in a Subway, and then entered a McDonald’s. Cruz not only admitted to the crime, after being detained at the McDonald, he also admitted to hiding extra ammunition in his backpack.
Although this nightmarish incident happened in 2018, in 2017 the FBI received a warning about a YouTube comment made by a user with the name “Nikolas Cruz” that read “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” with no other context available in the comment. The FBI told the press that during that time their database reviews and checks they were unable to further identify the user and confirm that it was actually Nikolas. Many people admitted to fearing Nikolas and his possible capability of violence long before his misdeeds committed that day.
Nikolas’ terrifying acts have not only heavily affected the Parkland community but school districts across the country. Schools are tightening up on their rules and procedures. There have been drills set in place to prevent such a tragedy from happening again and to prepare students and teachers for the possibility of that chance. Drills that we perform in our very own school. Safety has been more important now than ever.
Aisha • Jan 25, 2019 at 9:35 pm
Great article! Relevant & informative…