When was the Parkland school shooting?
OVER three years ago, a teen gunman opened fire at his former high school in Parkland, Florida resulting in the death of 17 individuals.
On November 2, 2022, Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life behind bars.
When was the Parkland school shooting?
The Parkland school shooting took place on February 14, 2018, and began at approximately 2.25pm EST.
Former student Nikolas Cruz had arrived at the school in an Uber carrying a rifle case and a backpack.
He was spotted and recognized by a staff member, who informed another colleague before hiding in a closet.
Cruz entered a three-story building that was home to 30 classrooms, typically occupied by around 900 students and 30 teachers.
The shooter activated a fire alarm and began shooting at staff and students with a legally purchased AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle.
On the first floor, he fired into the hallway and four individual classrooms, killing eleven people.
He fired shots on the second but did not kill anyone, before reaching the third floor and murdering six people in the hallway.
Cruz then dropped his rifle on the third floor and left the scene by blending in with terrified students.
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Who is Nikolas Cruz?
At the time of the shooting, 19-year-old Cruz was a student at the school who had a history of mental health and behavior problems.
Following the shooting, Cruz was arrested and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced in October 2022.
In November 2018, he was also charged after allegedly assaulting Broward County jail guard Sgt. Raymond Beltran.
Did Nikolas Cruz confess?
On October 20, 2021, Cruz pleaded guilty to all charges against him.
Over the years, Cruz's lawyers had offered to plead guilty multiple times in return for a guaranteed sentence of life in prison, but prosecutors had refused to drop their pursuit of the death penalty.
His sentencing to life in prison in November 2022 came just weeks after he avoided the death penalty.
Cruz's younger brother Zachary previously told The U.S. Sun that he is "pleased" his brother will plead guilty to the murders but says officials are "skirting responsibility."
During the shooting, 17 people died and another 17 were wounded.
Following the events, another two survivors are believed to have taken their own life after struggling to live with "survivor's guilt" and PTSD.
Among the 17 victims were 14 students and three faculty members.
What did Marjorie Taylor Greene say about it?
Marjorie Taylor Greene is a controversial far-right politician, businesswoman, and Q-Anon supporter who is a Republican congresswoman for Georgia.
Footage from a 2019 interview with a Georgia gun group has resurfaced, showing Greene mock a survivor of the Parkland school shooting.
She labels David Hogg an "idiot" who "only talks when he is scripted", in a shocking rant less than two years before she was elected to Congress.
"He is very trained. He's like a dog. He's completely trained," she says, suggesting the school shooting was staged.
She chases Hogg, aged 18 at the time, accusing him of "attacking our second amendment" by "using kids," and claims he is being funded by George Soros.
Greene says: "If Scot Peterson, the resource officer at Parkland had done his job, then Nikolas Cruz wouldn't have killed anybody in your high school or at least protected them."
She continues to harass Hogg, asking: "Why are you supporting red flag gun laws that attack our second amendment right and why are you using kids as a barrier? Do you not know how to defend your stance?"
The 2.47-minute video was originally posted to Greene's YouTube account in January 2020, when she "was going from office to office in the Senate to oppose the radical gun control agenda that David Hogg was pushing."
In response, Hogg says: "Look, I'm an American citizen. I'm a gun owner. I own a conceal carry permit."
She replies: "I carry a gun for protection for myself and you are using your lobby and the kids to try to take away my second amendment rights."
Was Scot Peterson convicted?
Former school security officer Scot Peterson went to trial after he was charged in 2019 with seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury.
If found convicted, he faced more than 96 years in prison.
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On Thursday, June 29, a jury found him not guilty on all charges.
The jury deliberated for 19 hours over four days.