Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's brother reveals relief at 'guilty plea' but says officials are 'skirting responsibility'
THE brother of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has told of his relief ahead of the suspected mass murderer's guilty plea – but claims school and state officials are "skirting responsibility" for the tragedy.
Zachary Cruz, 21, has given an exclusive statement to The Sun as his older brother intends to plead guilty to 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the deadliest school shooting in US history.
Nikolas Cruz — the 23-year-old who opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018 — has been incarcerated while awaiting trial and is set to appear in court on Wednesday morning.
In a statement to The Sun, Zachary told how he is "pleased" his brother will plead guilty to the Parkland school murders.
"I am pleased that my brother is taking responsibility for his actions. The fact that he is doing so without a deal in place tells me he is sincere," he said.
"I pray for the victims and their families everyday and I hope they find some peace."
Despite his brother's actions, Zachary admitted he's still "very concerned" that Broward schools and the Department of Children and Families apparently "continue to skirt responsibility for the tragedy at Parkland."
He thinks it's needed for "DCF to explain why they came to my mom’s hospital room when she died but then didn’t check to make sure my brother and I were taken to a safe place."
"I also think DCF and Broward schools must answer for dumping my brother when they knew he needed services and they knew he’d be dangerous without them," Zachary added.
"My regret today is that DCF and Broward schools have evaded yet another opportunity for the public to learn the truth."
Last week, Judge Elizabeth Scherer accepted that Nikolas wanted to change his plea in the case.
On October 15, Nikolas appeared in court wearing chinos, a blue sweater and a white shirt before entering his guilty plea to a separate battery assault charge involving an attack on a jail guard.
In the murder and attempted murder charges, he will receive either the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
Authorities claim that Nikolas confessed to the Valentine's Day 2018 massacre at a suburban high school in Florida.
Nikolas, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, was apprehended approximately an hour after the attack with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.
His lawyers have repeatedly offered to plead guilty in return for a guaranteed sentence of life in prison, but prosecutors have refused to drop their pursuit of the death penalty.
A guilty plea would both avoid a traumatic, lengthy trial and still allow a jury to decide Cruz's fate, the defense has argued.
Nikolas allegedly killed 17 people and injured 17 more during the tragic school shooting with a semiautomatic rifle that has since been referred to as the deadliest high school shootings in American history.
He was a student at the school at the time of the shooting and had a history of mental health and behavior problems.
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