A jury will soon determine whether or not the 2018 Parkland school shooter, who confessed to his crimes, should be sentenced to death for the horrific incident that resulted in the death of 14 students and three school staff members.
On Monday, opening arguments began in the penalty phase of Nikolas Cruz's trial which is expected to take several months. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury's decision must be unanimous to sentence the suspect to death.
Parkland School Shooter
In his opening statement, prosecutor Mike Satz said, "Three days before the massacre, Cruz made a video saying: 'My name is Nik. I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15 and some tracer rounds. It's gonna be a big event and when you see me on the news you'll know who I am. You're all gonna die. I can't wait.'"
Satz described the 2018 school shooting as a "planned, systematic mass murder" where the gunman killed more than a dozen students and several staff members at his former school. Danielle Gilbert was a student in building 12 when the shooting took place and took the stand as a prosecution witness on Monday, as per ABC News.
Gilbert said that students immediately dropped to the ground and ran toward their classroom window when they heard gunshots. However, he noted that their teacher realized the window was in view of the door, so they all hid near the teacher's desk. The gunman then fired into Gilbert's classroom, killing one student and injuring three others, she said.
The witness filmed videos of the chaos on his phone, which the prosecution played for the jurors during the trial. As the sounds of gunfire, a blaring fire alarm, and children screaming could be heard, the father of 14-year-old victim Jaime Guttenberg, Fred Guttenberg, put his arms around his wife to comfort her.
According to BBC, the now 23-year-old suspect pleaded guilty last year to 17 counts of first-degree murder over the horrific incident. While prosecutors seek the death penalty, the defense is pushing for life in prison without parole.
Death Penalty
The trial is a rare case of a mass shooter appearing before a jury in the United States, as they are frequently killed by police or take their own lives after their crimes. The 2018 shooting, which took place at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, is considered the deadliest to go before a jury in the nation.
Many of those gathered in the packed courtroom were visibly emotional as prosecutors delivered their opening statement. Some families affected by the attack have spoken out publicly in support of the death penalty in the case.
During the trial, prosecutors will lay out in gruesome detail how Cruz walked into his former school equipped with a semiautomatic rifle and more than 300 rounds of ammunition. They will also detail how, in less than six minutes, he fatally shot 14 students and three school staff members and injured 17 others during his shooting spree, the New York Times reported.
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