Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Massacre

 Hello hello everyone and welcome back to the True Crime Club Blog! *Disclaimer this speaks of adult content and depicts scenes that could be sensitive to some viewers.* Today we are discussing an extraordinarily terrifying case. The case of Stoneman Douglas. Please proceed with caution. ⚠️


Today we are discussing Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

Better known as Stoneman Douglas High School was a regular high school, located in Parkland Florida and home of the fighting Eagles who have taken the 4th spot in National titles in baseball and have the number 1 spot of 70 schools around that area. However, after February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School would be known as the location of the Parkland shooting. 


And these are the names that were victims of Nikolas Cruz, also known as the parkland shooter.


Alyssa Alhadeff was born on May 1, 2003. She was a 14 year old freshman when she died behind her English Teacher’s desk. She was very talented in soccer and creative writing. Alyssa died being struck 10 times in the heart, spine, head, femoral artery and her hand. 



Scott Beigel was a 35 year old geography teacher and cross country coach. Scott was shot after he unlocked a door allowing more students to enter a safe zone, out of the range of the shooter. Students expressed their gratitude to his family for having “a hero” for a son and a husband. 


Martin Duque Anguiano was a 14 year old freshman who was described as funny, outgoing and sometimes really quiet. Martin was a member of ROTC with future plans to become a Navy Seal. Martin died in the hallway of the high school with friends Luke Hoyer and Ashley Baez.


Luke Hoyer was a freshman in high school. He loved video games and basketball and his favorite food was chicken nuggets. Luke was shot in the hallway with his friends Ashely Baez and Martin Duque. And although found responsive at the scene, he died on the way to the hospital. 


Ashley Baes is a survivor of the Parkland Shooting, she was using the bathroom located across the hall, she stopped to talk to a friend and was shot with Luke Hoyer and Martin Duque. Although shot in the thigh, she fled to the first classroom she could get to and wrapped a shirt tightly around her leg. She held it there until SWAT came to rescue her. 


Gina Montalto was a 14 year old girl who loved being a member of girl scouts. She enjoyed color guard and she was enrolled in multiple honors classes. Gina died looking her killer in the eyes as he pushed his rifle to her chest and killed her. She was rushed out of the building by a student who thought they felt a pulse but was confirmed deceased at the hospital. 


Alex Schachter was a 14 year old who played baritone in the high school band and played basketball. Alex enjoyed playing fantasy football and his favorite video game was fortnite. He died by being shot in the chest before he could get out of his seat. 


Nicholas Dworet was 17 years old. He was captain of the swim team and had a girlfriend named Daria Chiarella. He had plans to attend University of Indianapolis. Nicholas died a hero as after he was shot in the head after he had assisted in making a barricade and the shooter shot into the corner he and another student were in. Later another student Aalayah Eastmond was able to use her body as cover and saved her life. 


Helena Ramsay was a 17 year old junior who enjoyed playing pokemon and was a horror film fan. Helena died a hero as she saved Samantha’s life during the shooting. Helena died from being shot in the chest twice from being in the corner after assisting with building a barricade. 


Alania Petty was a 14 year old who was a member of JROTC and had dreams of joining the military. She was shot in the chest and neck area which resulted in her death. Alaina’s body was one of the first removed from the school. 


Carmen Schentrup was 16, she wanted to pursue a career in medical sciences at the University of Florida and was passionate about finding a cure to ALS. She enjoyed country music and she loved Marvel Movies. Carmen was shot 4 times in the stomach and she fought for a long time before she passed. 


Maddy Wilford is a survivor of the Parkland shooting who took 4 bullets through her arm, abdomen and chest. She had shattered ribs and a collapsed lung. And until law enforcement shook Maddy, they thought she was dead because of the amount of blood she had lost and the fact that she was pale and unresponsive. 


Chris Hixon was the oldest victim of the massacre at 11 days shy of 50 years old. Chris was shot originally in the leg, and then he was later shot twice in the chest from point-blank range. Chris was originally found alive when paramedics got to him, but died on the way to the hospital. 


Aaron Feis was a former student at Stoneman Douglas High School and had gone back to teach. He was an assistant coach and a security guard and he was described as a hard worker. Aaron was approached by Chris McKenna who had been warned by the shooter to get out of the area, then took the child to safety and rushed the shooter to try and get the gun away from him. Aaron died from a gunshot to the upper torso, and the burns on his hand show he managed to get a grip on the rifle before being killed. 


Jamie Guttenberg was a 14 year old freshman who was very passionate about dance. She was a straight A student who had dreams of becoming a pediatric physical therapist. She was shot in her spinal cord within reaching the stairwell on her escape. So she pulled her body after being shot in the spinal cord and made sure she made it into the stairwell before dying. 


Peter Wang was a 15 year old who died a hero for holding the door to assist his classmates when he was shot to the chest, arms and brain. He was a member of JROTC who had dreams of attending West Point Military Academy, he also enjoyed playing basketball.


Anthony Borges is a survivor of the Parkland Shooting who obtained 5 shots to the torso and his legs resulting in Anthony’s lung having to be removed. 


Meadow Pollack was the oldest student killed in the massacre at 18 years old, who had aspirations of becoming a lawyer and was planning to attend Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Meadow was killed after she was shot 4 times, and draped her body over Cara Loughran, who had also been injured. Cruz shot them 5 more times through Meadow’s back, killing them both. 


Cara Loughran was 15 days shy of her 15th birthday and was a freshman. Cara was a dancer for the Drake School of Irish dance in Coral Springs and she loved the beach. She preferred Italian food and her favorite color was purple. Cara was among those stuck on the third floor, she had been paralyzed in fear and couldn’t move, when senior Meadow Pollack draped her body over Cara’s to protect her, however the shooter shot Meadow 5 more times through her back, killing both of them. 


Joaquin Oliver or Guac was a 17 year old who was making plans to go into marketing in Orlando Florida. And was heavily influenced by music. He was trapped out of the mens bathroom forcing him to hide in the alcove after being shot in the knee, he was approached by the perpetrator and shot in the head. 


And without further ado let’s dive into February 14th of 2018.


The shooting itself, if you found that it was difficult to get through that, please prepare yourself for this commission report:
At 2:19 pm on February 14th, 2018, Cruz exited an Uber at the school armed with a rifle and SEVERAL HUNDRED rounds of ammunition concealed in a rifle bag. He entered the school through an unstaffed gate that had been opened for school dismissal and made his way toward Building 12 on the north side of campus. He entered the east side of Building 12 through an unlocked and unstaffed door. He made his way through all three floors, firing into classrooms and hallways and killing or wounding 34 individuals. He exited Building 12 and ran across campus, blending in with students evacuating. Cruz was apprehended approximately 1 hour and 16 minutes after the first shots and charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Throughout this commissioner's report we will read details that are little known to the public. It goes on to state that while 17 people were dead and 17 were injured, Cruz never entered a single classroom. All of these fatalities were shot through the door, the window on the door or people that Cruz had come into contact with in the hallway on the way through his spree. The first 911 call that was made was made from someone in Building 12 which was the freshman building that was the target of the attack. This phone call was made at 2:22. This was 3 minutes after Cruz had hit the sidewalk of Stoneman Douglas. In footage pulled from students' phones of the shooting, you can see the activation of the fire alarms at 2:22:39 and the videos capture the sound of faint gunshots. The fire alarms were shut off at 2:22:59, leaving the alarm ringing for only 20 seconds. No Code Red was ever called for this incident. It is reported by students that Cruz moved with the effect that “no one was on the second floor” as he walked. Cruz then additionally attempted firing 5 rounds through a window, but was unsuccessful due to the weather treating on the windows. At 2:26, was the first time to have an active shooter confirmed over radio. The last shot was fired at 2:27 pm. A total of 8 minutes. Cruz was able to ditch the rifle, live rounds and vest on the ground and ran down the stairs, blending in with a group of students fleeing from the scene. At 2:40 PM the first evacuation of students began. A student even turned and said “I’m surprised you weren’t the one who did this”. And while this investigation is going on, Cruz waltzes through the Walmart parking lot, like a doof not thinking he’s going to get caught on surveillance camera, and while law enforcement are beginning their search for Cruz on the second floor, he was inside the subway getting a drink. And by the time he is seen on surveillance leaving the Walmart, LAW ENFORCEMENT STILL BELIEVE HE’S IN THE SCHOOL. LIKE COME ONNNNN, get your grounds covered you have a literal mass murderer on the loose now. And the man that was falsely reporting that he was seeing Cru inside the building, DID NOT REALIZE THAT HIS BROADCAST WAS BEHIND FOR 7 WHOLE MINUTES. It’s now 3:01 and Cruz is chilling in the McDonald’s and is accompanied by John Wilford. But wait, it gets so much worse. You’re thinking where do I know that last name from? I feel like deja vu. Yeah no, LATER ON John Wilford will learn that the man sitting across from him, SHOT AND ATTEMPTED TO MURDER HIS SISTER Madeleine or Maddy Wilford. Meanwhile law enforcement is finally catching on to the fact that their Mass Murderer they were attempting to catch inside the building, had in fact exited the building not several, but 20 minutes ago. At 3:08, law enforcement had cleared out all victims and successfully locked down the entire Building 12. And at 3:37 pm Cruz was detained by a police officer in another county and was found 2 miles southwest of campus. When his bag was found, Cruz had a remaining 180 rounds of ammunition left when his gun had jammed. At further investigation law enforcement found that the ammunition magazines recovered from the scene all had swastikas sketched into them. Law enforcement then finds that students knew Cruz as “the next school shooter”. 


Nikolas Cruz was arrested 2 miles from the school after he snuck out in a crowd of children evacuating. And was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and held without bond. On March 7 2018, a grand jury indicted Cruz on 34 charges 17 counts of 1st degree murder and 17 attempted counts of 1st degree murder. He was placed on suicide watch and placed in a surveillance cell after the arraignment and soon after he confessed to the murder and in mere months the confession video was leaked via TMZ. Cruz is currently in jail and apprehended on assault charges on a law enforcement officer from a fight inside the prison. His trial was to initially begin January 27th 2020 but was delayed for his lawyers to have more time to prepare. The trial is currently indefinitely delayed due to covid 19 restrictions. 


Looking into Nikolas Cruz: 

Nikolas Cruz was a 19 year old who had been adopted at birth by his parents and he was slipping through the cracks. His adopted father died in 2004 and left Linda to raise him alone. Teachers were showing behavioral issues as far back as middle school. He was referred to multiple different psychiatrists and was sent to many times of detention and ended up changing school 6 times. In 2014 he was referred to the PROMISE program as a result of vandalism. He showed signs of depression, autistic and ADHD but was considered low risk for harming himself or others. Cruz’s Adoptive mother died in 2017. A bank teller came forward after her death informing law enforcement that Lynda had spoke in great length about her son threatening to kill her. and Cruz and his brother moved in with Deschamps but that was short lived as there was an altercation that sent both Cruz to the Snead family. Cruz was one of “those kids” according to the students. The terror he caused on February 14th 2018 caused 17 families to lose a loved one, 17 human beings to lose their lives and 17 others were seriously injured. This was constructed of 14 students and 3 staff members. Cruz’s history showed extensive school discipline, juvenile diversion programs, Cruz underwent the behavioral threat assessment as well. Cruz was known for making statements such as “I wish all Jews were dead” or “I’m glad they killed all those gay people”. An acquaintance of Cruz states that he knew he was racist and was known to make phrases such as “white power”.  He was known to have a history of killing small animals and would bring them to school in a lunchbox????? Students recall seeing him bring knives to school and some even saw Cruz’s guns off campus. Further examination of Cruz’s social media shows that back in 2017 he commented on a youtube video stating “I’m going to be the next school shooter”. But youtube wasn't the only place where he allowed this part of him to shine. Instagram posts captioned with “I do and don’t care I have my life and I wanna fucking kill people”.  He was shown discussing the purchase of a 12 gauge shotgun, he later did purchase the same gun from a Dick’s Sporting Goods on December 9th of 2017. Cruz’s trial is being suspended currently due to COVID-19 restrictions. But it was also reported that achieving the death penalty with this many victims, would have taken this long regardless of the restrictions. There are also now more charges than the 34 counts 17 being Nikolas Cruz is located in the 


21 instances involving Cruz were comprised of: 

1 response to 9/16 threat assessment

1 complaint of Cruz shooting chickens (there was no action done after learning Cruz was mentally delayed). 

2 complaints about instagram posts involving guns

1 Field Interview reports

2 family friends calling BSO warning about Cruz. 

9 children fighting or running away

4 acting out toward his mother (domestic) 

1 Follow-up to a previous call 


So here's the thing about Linda, she comes off as great until we read this commissioner report that lets us know that she called the cops on her adoptive sons for throwing water balloons, that her children were not listening to her, because they were fighting about the computer. She kicked Cruz out on November 27th and then on the 28th, she called to report the had both run away???? 


Transcripts from Internet Searches:

“Shooting people massacre”

“Rape caught on video”

“Armed robber gets shot buy every customer”

Multiple porn websites

“Pumped up kicks”

MSDHS Schedule 

Video on how to build an airsoft assault rifle

Anime Cartoons

Video on the kardashian family

Banking

Political articles

Pornography 

Spot.com

Asain mail-order brides

“Is killing people easy”

“Pest control job”

“Crime scene cleaner”


Note on Cruz’s Phone:

“Control your breathing and trigger pull. Your the one who sights in the rifle for yourself. adjust the scope to your shooting ability. Keep that adjustment every time you have to shoot to yourself only to one self. My trigger squeeze is ones ability.samething every time.”


“Basketball court full of targets still thinking of ways to kill people”


“My life is a mess idk what to do anymore. Everyday I get even more agitated at everyone cause my life is unfair. Everything and everyone is happy except for me I want to kill people but I don't know how I can do it. Walk to a park, get someone to pick me up I just don't know anymore but it will happen soon.”


“My love towards her grows, without her I’m nothing all this madness inside is about to Burst without her I have nothing I wish we could love,I wish we could live, but at the the end to her it’s probably nothing, but that’s ok cause I love her,I love you my angel (name redacted) if I don’t die please see me it will bring happiness to me I want to love, I want to be in love with you, forever and ever with no end insight :’) even if I’m raped to death you will always be on my mind that’s how much my love is for you, I see you not as a person but a soul lover a love that will never be broken. I’m in love with you (name redacted) my love. you have been the sweetest, gentle being of my heart I love you. please be with m in the after life my dearest sweetheart :’) I will always dream about you even if I do stupid things your nothing but love in my life I can’t stand a day without you even after I been a worthless trash can.i wish for you to be my will with my everything I leave behind it belongs to you and my brother.the half of the cash goes to you and my brother as my hatred grows my love grows towards to one person my dear love”



“Nikolas Cruz enters the 1200 building from the East side doors on the first floor around 2:21 PM. The building has 3 floors, each floor having one main hallway that’s flanked on both sides by classrooms, bathrooms and other rooms. Class is in session so not many people are in the first floor hallway, many are in classrooms though. Cruz immediately dips into the east 1st floor stairwell near where he entered and begins to get ready. He then unzips his bag and puts on his vest and readies his rifle. As this is happening Chris McKenna, a freshman, is on his way to the bathroom when he enters the stairwell and witnesses Cruz gearing up. Cruz tells him to “get out of here because things are about to get messy”, McKenna then flees out of the east-side entrance to alert an adult. Cruz then steps out of the stairwell into the 1st floor hallway and begins his massacre. He first opens fire on a group of 3 students loitering outside the door area of room 1215: Martin Duque, Luke Hoyer, and Gina Montalto. All three students were killed. Another student Ashley Baez was down the hall and was shot once but managed to hide in the bathroom and eventually took cover in room 1210 across the hall. Cruz walks up to the doorway of room 1216, an English class taught by Dara Hass, fires multiple shots through the door/window to the room. 3 people are injured and 1 Alex Schachter is killed before he gets up by a shot to the torso. Cruz then walks out into the hallway to fix something with his gun or his vest. Proceeding west bound down the hallway, Cruz next targets room 1214, which was a Holocaust History Class taught by Ivy Schamis. He fires 15 rounds through the door/window which injured 4. Upon these 4 are Nicholas Dworet and Helena Ramsey who died of multiple gunshot wounds. Cruz then pauses again to unjam his gun and enters room 1216 and again fires through the door. Alyssa Alhadeff was killed due to shots to the heart, hand, femoral artery, and spine. Alaina Petty is also killed and 2 additional students are injured. This is when the first call to 911 goes out. It has been 8 minutes, 10 are injured and 8 are dead. Students are also evacuating campus at this time due to the pulled fire alarm. Crus then goes up to 1213, an AP psychology class and kills Carmen Schentrup (shot in the abdomen) Maddy Wilford who was shot 3 times and initially was thought to be dead, and 3 others are also injured in room 1213. Athletic director Chris Hixon runs into the 1200 building through the west side door (opposite where Cruz entered) and into the hallway. He is shot and injured by Cruz from mid-range and crawls into the alcove of the doorway of the building’s office. Cruz continues westward down the hallway and executes Hixon. 

Aaron Feis is rushing toward the west side of the building in a golf cart and SRO Scott Peterson is also running towards the 1200 building but he decides to take cover outside instead of going inside. Coral Springs Police and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office are also beginning to arrive at the school. Cruz enters the west stairwell of the first floor. As he enters Feis also arrives and enters through the other entry door to the base of the stairwell; he is almost immediately shot down by Cruz in either the chest or head and neck. Cruz then heads up the staircase towards the second floor. 11 have died and 14 have been injured and only 2 fucking minutes and 30 seconds have passed. Let’s ELABORATE 2 MINUTES AND 30 FUCKING SECONDS. Cruz then proceeds eastward down the hallway. He fired into a few classrooms that did not result in injury because they were able to barricade themselves after hearing the shots on the first floor. He spends one minute ONE MINUTE on this floor before using the East stairwell of the second floor to ascend to the 3rd floor. On the third floor, many students have fled their classrooms due to the fire alarm and most of these students are from rooms 1249 and 1255. Cruz enters the landing of the 3rd floor east stairwell at the same time that teachers and students begin to crowd the hallways. Cruz wastes no time and begins shooting on this floor, beginning with Scott Beigel who was standing in the doorway to classroom 1256. He is the first to be killed and died instantly due to the shot in the heart. He was dead as a result of him opening his classroom to students who were fleeing the gunfire and was locking the door to his class, which could only be locked from the outside, when he was shot. A student in the adjacent room (1255) is also injured by a shot through the door. 4 additional students in the hallway are injured and in the future 3 of those students will die. 




Cruz then spins around so his back is towards his victims and is reloading his gun. The other students who weren’t injured by the initial barrage notice this and begin fleeing down the west staircase located on the 3rd floor. Cruz finishes loading and turns back and fires on the fleeing crowd. Jamie Guttenburg is shot in the spine and manages to make it to a stairwell before collapsing and dying. Peter Wang, who was holding the door for his classmates, was shot in the head and killed instantly. 

Cruz continues westward down the 3rd floor hallway and proceeds to finish off 4 of his victims from the initial 3rd floor barrage. Anthony Borges, the most gravely injured of the victims, was shot 5 times (3 times in the legs and 2 times in the torso) is lying in the middle of the hallway and playing dead as Cruz steps over then. He then approaches Meadow Pollack who is lying over Cara Loughran, Cara was frozen in fear upon hearing gunshots and Meadow was comforting her. However Meadow was shot 4 times in the initial barrage and was grievously injured. When Cruz came upon them he fired 5 shots through Meadow’s back killing her and Cara. Their bodies were in the alcove of room 1249. Joaquin Oliver was Cruz's next victim. He was shot in the knee in the initial 3rd floor barrage and crawled into the alcove of the 3rd floor boys bathroom. Witnesses in room 1249 heard him screaming and begging for his life when Cruz walked up to him and shot him in the side of the head and possibly a shot to the torso. The police response is now massive. 

Afterwards Cruz proceeded westward to the teachers lounge of the third floor and attempted to fire out the window onto fleeing students. Despite firing 16 shots the windows did not break. Cruz then leaves to the west 3rd floor stairwell where he discards his vest and rifle. He jogs down the stairs and out the west stairwell entrance of the 1st floor of the freshman building.”


Now let’s talk about something we don’t like to think about. The missed signs or the failure of complete security for Stoneman Douglas. From 2:21 to 2:22 Cruz’s movements were not recorded due to a dirty camera. This continues to be an issue through timestamps 2:22:33 to 2:22:43 there is no footage of his movements due to dust on the camera. It’s also important to note that there was not a notification made school wide informing people of the intruder on campus, this is evident when students from the other floors were calmly evacuating and the students from the third-floor were moving with much more drive. THE FIRE ALARMS WERE TURNED OFF AT 2:22:57. As a result of no code red being called, some classrooms had upwards of 70 students jammed inside because students were handling it like a fire drill and got stuck on the second floor, but were not in Cruz’s line of fire.  OKAY so let’s talk about how long it took law enforcement to realize their cameras were behind on the footage they were reporting on. 7 minutes. 7 fucking minutes. Mind you the drive from the high school to Fort-Lauderdale airport, 29 minute drive. And this man left the building half an hour ago, mad inconspicuously and He could be half way across the country in a hot minute. Law enforcement still hasn't even been able to put out an APB on this man restricting his flight because their technology failed. The gate that was used as a point of access, is unlocked and unguarded by anyone regularly. Now here’s the thing. It HAD to have been unlocked longer than just operating school days, UNLESS you’re telling me there’s footage of a strangely dressed man walking around and checking gates. So Cruz did study the area, long enough to know that that gate remained unlocked and he was able to gain entry to the building. This gate in question? Also not anchored at the base and there are no security features along the top of the fence either. The only times this gate was monitored was during the school day at 8:00 am and again at 2:15 pm when the guard was opening the gate and shutting the gate. The commissioners report goes on to say that the newer buildings, including Building 12, despite the rest of them being built of concrete, were built using drywall. No doors on the first floor were kept locked however the bathrooms on the floor were closed due to a vaping problem. There are also no security cameras within the classrooms themselves? There were no PA systems available for those in need in the hallways. We learn later that there was no policy for a code red. It took security on campus 7 minutes to respond to the sight of an intruder. During surveillance video you can see Campus monitor David Taylor was seen at 2:20 approximately 1 minute before the shots began, using his phone outside the restrooms. Police received a call on November 30th 2017 from Mary Hamel who was a friend of Cruz’s adoptive mother, stating that she believed he ‘might be a columbine in the making’. There was not an incident report but noted that Cruz was autistic and his location was unknown. 


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Photographs of victims and maps: 

Aaron Feis

Alaina Petty

Alex Schachter

Alyssa Alhadeff

Chris Hixon

Nikolas Cruz at his trial

Third floor stairwell

Surveillance footage of Cruz on Floor 2

Gina Montalto

Helena Ramsey

Jamie Guttenberg

Joaquin Oliver

Map of the full school outlining building 12

Peter Wang

Meadow Pollack

Nicholas Dworet

Ashley Baez

Map of the second floor

Screenshot from footage of students being evacuated

Students evacuating Building 12

Anthony Borges

Carmen Schentrup

Nikolas Cruz in police custody

First floor map

Luke Hoyer

Maddy Wilford


Scott Biegel



Students evacuating through the third floor stairwell

Map of the third floor


Resources that allowed me to fully research this topic:

We Are Columbine 

Zero Hour 

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/msdhs/commissionreport.pdf

https://www.policefoundation.org/publication/marjory-stoneman-douglas-high-school-public-safety-commission-initial-report/

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/14/911478446/in-florida-schools-under-pressure-to-get-rid-of-police-officers

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