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As the sentencing trial continues for Nikolas Cruz, the 23-year-old accused of the 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors are exploring the alleged gunman's disturbing internet history.
NBC Miami reported on Wednesday that jurors were shown 200 comments by Nikolas Cruz clearly expressing the desire to carry out a mass shooting. Prosecutors allege that this is solid evidence that Cruz had taken a calculated, systematic approach to carry out the killings.
On YouTube, Nikolas Cruz reportedly posted in the comments section that he intended to kill people.
One comment said:
"I want to be a professional school shooter."
In another, he stated:
"I have no problem seeing people die."
Cruz has been convicted of 17 murders and 17 attempted murders at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High school, where he was formerly a student. He pleaded guilty to the charges on October 14, 2020.
The sentencing hearing, which is expected to last until October 2022, will determine whether or not he receives a life sentence or the death penalty.
The online history of Nikolas Cruz
Nicholas Masters, a detective for the Broward Sheriff's Department, testified on Wednesday afternoon that authorities had used browser cookies to collate various comments made by Nikolas Cruz across numerous platforms. They also discovered his google search history.
According to Fox, the online history of Nikolas Cruz may have shown evidence of planning, as he was shown to have researched several mass shootings, such as the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and the 2015 attack on an African-American Church.
NBC reported that in online comments, he showed particular admiration for Elliot Rodgers, the 22-year-old British American college student who killed seven people in a 2014 attack in Isla Vista.
Nick Masters said that this obsession with mass shootings began at least seven months before the Parkland attack. One of the searches read, "How to Become Evil in Society."
He also allegedly researched other factors that show signs of planning. According to police testimony, he posed questions in online forums concerning weaponry and police response times. He also discussed his depression and growing alienation from society.
In one comment, he wrote:
“The last part makes me scared. What happens when I have no one? I am 18, still in high school and everyone is on their way to college. I am there thinking about killing people and ending their lives."
He added:
“I hate my life and I want to take people with me.”
The trial has been emotionally taxing for survivors and the victims' families. The defense has claimed that while Cruz may have perpetrated the crime, he was led to it due to a history of abuse, bullying, and mental health issues.
