Former student gunman shoots 'at least 15 dead' and leaves up to 50 injured at Florida High school on Ash Wednesday after going on rampage before being taken into custody in an ambulance following dramatic showdown with SWAT
- A gunman, named as Nicolas de Jesus Cruz, 19, has been arrested after opening fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida
- Authorities report at least 15 casualties at the school while up to 50 were injured in the shooting
- Some students barricaded themselves inside their classrooms while others were seen sprinting away from the school as police and SWAT teams swarmed the building
- At around 4pm, two hours after he first opened fire, police took the suspected gunman into custody
- Police described him as a former student and ex-member of the JROTC
- A student who claims to know Cruz said the suspected gunman was a 'troubled kid' and obsessed with guns
- 'I stayed clear of him. I didn't want to cause any conflict with him because of the impression he gave off'
By Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com
Published: 17:25 EST, 14 February 2018 | Updated: 18:06 EST, 14 February 2018
A suspected gunman has been arrested after opening fire on a Florida high school on Ash Wednesday, leaving as many as 15 dead and up to 50 injured.
The 'heavily armed' shooter, named by police sources to DailyMail.com as former student Nicolas de Jesus Cruz, 19, entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, armed with what appears to be an assault rifle, and began shooting at just after 2pm.
Broward Sheriff confirmed that 'we have at least 14 victims' although he did not specify whether they had been injured or killed. Florida Senator Bill Nelson told Fox News there were 'many deaths'.
Sources told ABC News at least 15 people had been confirmed dead.
The traumatized students said that once they heard reports of a mass shooting at the school, they knew it would be Cruz.
Matthew Walker, a 17-year-old student at the school, told WFOR-TV that all his classmates 'knew it was going to be him.'
'A lot of people were saying it was going to be him,' he said. 'A lot of kids threw jokes around saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. It turns out that everyone predicted it. That's crazy.'
'He was going class to class just shooting at random kids,' he said. 'Everything he posts (on social media) is about weapons. It's sick.'
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