Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz obtained 10 guns in year leading up to deadly massacre

The suspected gunman behind last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida, had a bigger arsenal of weapons than previously known: In addition to the legally-purchased AR-15 Nikolas Cruz used to kill 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last Wednesday, the 19-year-old reportedly owned at least nine additional rifles.

A law enforcement source reportedly told CNN that Cruz had purchased at least ten rifles in the year or so leading up to the deadly massacre. At least two of those firearms were purchased legally at Gun World of South Florida in Deerfield Beach. The store owner told CNN that Cruz bought two guns there according to the normal protocol, but did not offer any further details about his purchase.

According to CNN, investigators are working to track down how and where Cruz obtained the additional weapons. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Cruz kept some of his guns in a safe at the home of Kimberly and James Snead, the parents of a friend who took Cruz in after his adoptive mother died unexpectedly late last year.

James Snead told the Sun Sentinel this weekend that Cruz kept two additional rifles besides the AR-15 in a locked safe in his room, along with knives and a BB gun. The Sneads were aware of Cruz’s weapons when he moved with them, and allowed him to keep them in the home on the condition that they stay locked in the safe, which was Cruz’s responsibility to purchase, only to be taken out with the Sneads’ permission. James Snead told the newspaper that he believed he had the only key to the gun safe. After the shootings, he concluded that Cruz must have kept a key for himself.

The Sneads said that while Cruz seemed to be depressed about the death of his mother, they didn’t see any signs that he was capable of committing mass violence. It is unclear where Cruz is believed to have kept any additional weapons.

 

 

[Feature image: Nikolas Cruz/Associated Press]