This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2018/feb/14/florida-school-shooting-live-updates-latest-news-marjory-stoneman-douglas
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Florida shooting: 17 confirmed dead in 'horrific' attack on high school – live | Florida shooting: 17 confirmed dead in 'horrific' attack on high school – live |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Here is what we now know about the terrible events that unfolded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday. | |
| Seventeen people – children and adults – were killed when a gunman entered the high school on Wednesday afternoon and launched an attack. Twelve people were found dead inside the school, two were killed outside the building, one in the street, and two died later in hospital from their injuries. | |
| The suspect has been named by police as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz. He was arrested at the scene and is being questioned by investigators. | |
| The killer was armed with an AR-15 rifle and “multiple magazines”, police said. | |
| Cruz was formerly a student at Douglas, but was expelled for disciplinary reasons. A teacher at the school said staff had been warned not to let him back on campus. The suspect had reportedly been receiving treatment for mental health issues. | |
| Twelve of those killed have been identified, police said on Wednesday evening. No names of victims have yet been released, but Sheriff Scott Israel said a football coach was among those lost. | |
| Fifteen victims remain in hospital: five in a life-threatening condition and 10 with injuries that are not life-threatening. | |
| Students who had been at school with Cruz said many classmates had predicted he could “do something” to harm them and that he had previously brought guns to school. | |
| Teacher Melissa Falkowski said drills for a code red (active shooter) situation had been well rehearsed: | |
| We could not have been more prepared for this situation … we have trained for this, we have trained the kids for what to do … We did everything that we were supposed to do. | |
| I feel today like our government, our country, has failed us and failed our kids and didn’t keep us safe. | |
| Distressing messages from children in lockdown inside the school to their parents show the terror as teachers barricaded their students into classrooms and closets to evade the gunman. | |
| The tragedy appears to be the eighth deadliest mass shooting in contemporary US history. It is also one of at least eight US school shootings so far in 2018 that have caused injury or death. | |
| President Donald Trump tweeted his “prayers and condolences” to those affected, but decided not to speak about the attack, reports said. | |
| But others said thoughts and prayers were not enough. Chris Murphy, senator for Connecticut – site of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, in which 26 children and adults were killed – said: | |
| This happens nowhere else other than the United States of America. This epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting. | |
| It only happens here not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction. We are responsible. | |
| Wednesday’s violence marks the second-greatest loss of life from a shooting at a US public school, after the 2012 massacre of 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, by a gunman who also killed his mother and himself. | |
| It also is the deadliest ever at an American high school, surpassing the 1999 rampage at Columbine high school in Littleton, Colorado, where two teenagers killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. | |
| (Via Reuters.) | |
| The emotional impact of school shootings has sparked a booming school safety industry. In 2017, the market for security equipment in the education sector was estimated at $2.68bn, according to industry analysts at IHS Markit. Some companies have capitalized on parents’ fears by selling bulletproof backpacks or whiteboards, as well as offering ways to fortify school buildings against attack. | |
| While refusing to pass substantive gun control restrictions, Congress has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in federal spending to help put police officers in public schools, including $45m in 2013, the year after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. | |
| Some gun rights advocates have pushed to expand gun-carrying in schools further. Andrew McDaniel, a state legislator in Missouri who introduced legislation last year to make it easier to carry guns in schools, told the Guardianthat, in rural schools where it might take 20 or 30 minutes for law enforcement to respond to a school shooting in progress, it made sense to have other armed citizens ready to step in. | |
| There will be no more briefings from police until Thursday. Investigators are continuing to identify victims and notify families. Others are questioning the suspect, Nikolas Cruz. | |
| The next media briefing will take place at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the media staging area near the school. | |
| Teacher Jim Gard told the Miami Herald that suspect Nikolas Cruz had been banned from returning to campus while carrying a backpack. | |
| “There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus,” Gard told the newspaper. Administrators sent an email to teachers warning them about Cruz, Gard said. | |
| However, Broward county public schools superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters outside the school after the shooting that the school had no indication Cruz was a danger. | |
| “Typically, you see in these situations that there potentially could have been signs out there,” he said. “But we didn’t have any warnings, there weren’t any phone calls or threats that we know of that were made.” | |
| Runcie later said Cruz was still a student at Broward county public schools but declined to provide further details. | |
| Sheriff Scott Israel said earlier Cruz may have been enrolled at Taravella high school in Coral Springs after his expulsion from Marjory Stoneman Douglas, but the sheriff did not know if Cruz still attended Taravella. | |
| (Via Reuters) | |
| Warning: distressing messages. | |
| As students were in lockdown inside the high school, many exchanged text messages with their worried parents outside. | |
| The children who sent these two messages are safe and have been reunited with their parents. | |
| While hiding in a bathroom for two hours, this is the text Sarah Crescitelli sent her parents. Dad and Mom both crying re-reading it. #stonemanshooting @ pic.twitter.com/zN7RY8a4vE | |
| Parent's conversation with -14-year-old son who is currently in lockdown. pic.twitter.com/6M4f0FrbZJ | |
| Officials say they have so far identified 12 of the 17 people killed in and around Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. As they are still in the process of identifying the others, and informing all the families, no names of victims have yet been released. | Officials say they have so far identified 12 of the 17 people killed in and around Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school. As they are still in the process of identifying the others, and informing all the families, no names of victims have yet been released. |
| Sheriff Scott Israel did say a football coach at the school was among those killed. Both adults and children were among the dead, he confirmed. | Sheriff Scott Israel did say a football coach at the school was among those killed. Both adults and children were among the dead, he confirmed. |
| Donald Trump earlier tweeted his “prayers and condolences” to those affected by the shooting. | Donald Trump earlier tweeted his “prayers and condolences” to those affected by the shooting. |
| It appears the president will not be speaking tonight or possibly tomorrow either about what has taken place in Parkland. | It appears the president will not be speaking tonight or possibly tomorrow either about what has taken place in Parkland. |
| President Trump did not address the nation today after the Florida school shooting and, at least for now, he does not have any public appearances scheduled for tomorrow either | President Trump did not address the nation today after the Florida school shooting and, at least for now, he does not have any public appearances scheduled for tomorrow either |
| Administration aides tell me that advisors have recommended he say something, but he has opted not to https://t.co/DJp1biO5x7 | Administration aides tell me that advisors have recommended he say something, but he has opted not to https://t.co/DJp1biO5x7 |
| The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had reportedly been receiving treatment for mental health issues. | The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had reportedly been receiving treatment for mental health issues. |
| Broward county mayor Beam Furr told CNN that Cruz had previously attended a mental health clinic, but had not been seen there for more than a year: | Broward county mayor Beam Furr told CNN that Cruz had previously attended a mental health clinic, but had not been seen there for more than a year: |
| It wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him. | It wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him. |
| We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected … Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. | We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren’t connected … Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. |
| In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid. | In this case, we didn’t find a way to connect with this kid. |
| Students who had been at school with suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, said “everyone predicted” he could “do something” like the tragedy that unfolded on Wednesday afternoon, and that some children had been scared of him. | Students who had been at school with suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, said “everyone predicted” he could “do something” like the tragedy that unfolded on Wednesday afternoon, and that some children had been scared of him. |
| Cruz had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, for disciplinary reasons, according to Broward county sheriff Scott Israel. | Cruz had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida, for disciplinary reasons, according to Broward county sheriff Scott Israel. |
| One student at the school, speaking to CNN but without disclosing his identity, said: “A lot of people were saying that it was going to be him. All the kids joked ... saying he was the one that screwed up at school, but it turns out everyone predicted it. That’s crazy.” | One student at the school, speaking to CNN but without disclosing his identity, said: “A lot of people were saying that it was going to be him. All the kids joked ... saying he was the one that screwed up at school, but it turns out everyone predicted it. That’s crazy.” |
| Guardian reporter Oliver Laughland has talked to students at the school about the suspect, who has been named by police as Nikolas Cruz: | Guardian reporter Oliver Laughland has talked to students at the school about the suspect, who has been named by police as Nikolas Cruz: |
| Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior at the school, said he used to be friends with the suspect, but that Cruz started “progressively getting a little more weird, and I kind of cut off from him”. | Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior at the school, said he used to be friends with the suspect, but that Cruz started “progressively getting a little more weird, and I kind of cut off from him”. |
| Mutchler said Cruz posted about killing animals on social media and talked about guns and target practice. | Mutchler said Cruz posted about killing animals on social media and talked about guns and target practice. |
| “Everyone in the school that knew him speculated about him,” said Mutchler. “When someone’s expelled, you don’t really expect them to come back … If they’re expelled, they’re gone. But of course, he came back.” | “Everyone in the school that knew him speculated about him,” said Mutchler. “When someone’s expelled, you don’t really expect them to come back … If they’re expelled, they’re gone. But of course, he came back.” |
| Mutchler added that he stopped communicating with the suspect after “he started going after one of my friends and threatening her”. | Mutchler added that he stopped communicating with the suspect after “he started going after one of my friends and threatening her”. |
| Victoria Olvera, also a 17-year-old junior, said of the suspect: “At first, he was really nice.” | Victoria Olvera, also a 17-year-old junior, said of the suspect: “At first, he was really nice.” |
| But later, she said: “He just changed. As far as I knew, he was like a future school shooter.” | But later, she said: “He just changed. As far as I knew, he was like a future school shooter.” |
| We have an update on those who were taken to hospitals after the shooting. | We have an update on those who were taken to hospitals after the shooting. |
| Seventeen victims were taken to Broward Health medical center and Broward Health North. | Seventeen victims were taken to Broward Health medical center and Broward Health North. |
| Of those, two died in hospital. They are counted among the 17 dead. | Of those, two died in hospital. They are counted among the 17 dead. |
| Five remain in life-threatening condition on Wednesday night. | Five remain in life-threatening condition on Wednesday night. |
| Ten remain in hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening. | Ten remain in hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening. |
| The killer was also taken to hospital for treatment after his arrest, but was subsequently released into police custody. | The killer was also taken to hospital for treatment after his arrest, but was subsequently released into police custody. |
| Sheriff Scott Israel adds: | Sheriff Scott Israel adds: |
| If a person is predisposed to commit such a horrific event … if a person is committed to committing great carnage … there’s not a lot law enforcement can do about it. | If a person is predisposed to commit such a horrific event … if a person is committed to committing great carnage … there’s not a lot law enforcement can do about it. |
| We have to be able to mitigate, we have to be able to respond quickly. | We have to be able to mitigate, we have to be able to respond quickly. |
| He says more money needs to go to treating mental health issues. | He says more money needs to go to treating mental health issues. |
| Israel says that, in his view, people with mental health illnesses should not be allowed to use, own or purchase a handgun. | Israel says that, in his view, people with mental health illnesses should not be allowed to use, own or purchase a handgun. |