17 people were killed and another 17 injured on February 14, 2018, when Nikolas Cruz, 19, opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburb of Parkland, Florida.
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Cruz, a former student at the school, fled on foot by blending in with other students and was apprehended without incident about an hour later in nearby Coral Springs.
The killing spree is the deadliest high school shooting in US history, surpassing the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado in April 1999, which killed 15, including the perpetrators.
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Cruz pleaded guilty to all charges and apologised for his actions on October 20, 2021. The prosecution was seeking the death penalty, and a four-month trial was scheduled to begin in January 2022.
The sentencing phase was repeatedly postponed, owing in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cruz’s death penalty trial began on July 18, 2022, and ended on October 13, 2022, with the jury recommending Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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