Student charged with 17 murders stays silent as recordings played in court
Nikolas Cruz appeared in connection with the school massacre on Valentine’s Day.
The former student charged with killing 17 people at a Florida high school last month remained silent in court and had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf as police released more recordings that captured the terror of the Valentine’s Day slayings.
Nikolas Cruz, shackled and wearing red prison clothes, sat in the jury box with his head bowed and said nothing during the brief hearing.
Because he refused to announce his plea, the judge entered it for him on each of the 34 counts he faces.
His lawyer, assistant public defender Melisa McNeill, reiterated that Cruz would plead guilty if prosecutors waived the death penalty, which they refused to do.
It also prompted a nationwide walkout of thousands of students, who showed solidarity with the Parkland students a month after the shooting.
As Cruz sat in the courtroom, more details of the shooting emerged as the Coral Springs Police Department released recordings of 911 calls and police radio traffic.
In the recordings, students and dispatchers were uncertain about the shooter’s location and how to hide from him.
Some were frightened the gunman would return to their location when asked if they could perform CPR on the wounded.
“Please, please, please, there are people here. They are bleeding. They are all going to die,” a teenage girl calling from Room 1216 said through tears and heavy breathing.
“There’s a lot of people around us that are injured, people that are injured, people that are bleeding. He is upstairs now.”
A teacher from Room 1216 also called for help and told the 911 operator that a student had been hit in the chest, and wasn’t breathing.
“He’s twitching. There’s blood all over,” she said.
At one point, the operator warned that the shooter was still in the hallway, advising the teacher to keep the students still.
“Stay down, he’s by your room, OK. Everyone be quiet.”
The police radio recordings showed that the Coral Springs police officers were the first to enter the school building after confirming that Broward County Sheriff’s Office deputies had not gone in.
As they clear each of the building’s three floors, the officers describe seeing shell casings on the floor and bullet holes in the windows.
They warned that the suspect may have changed clothes after they reported finding a camouflaged jacket, ski mask and backpack on the first floor.
On the third floor, officers said they found an AR-15 with a magazine still attached.
The officers found wounded victims and bodies, and they prioritised evacuating the wounded before allowing other students and teachers to leave.
On the third floor, they said they shattered windows in some locked classroom doors because terrified students would not open doors.
Cruz was arrested a few blocks away from the school.
His next hearing is scheduled for April 11.
