Nikolas Cruz, the gunman who murdered students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder on Wednesday.
Cruz, 23, faces a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole and a maximum sentence of the death penalty, which will be decided by a jury in the upcoming sentencing phase of the trial.
In a statement to the court on Wednesday Cruz apologized to the victims and blast drugs.
“I am very sorry for what I did, and I have to live with it every day. If I were to get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to try to help others,” he said. “I am doing this for you, and I do not care if you do not believe me. And I love you, and I know you don’t believe me, but I have to live with this every day, and it brings me nightmares and I can’t live with myself sometimes, but I try to push through because I know that’s what you guys would want me to do.”
“I hate drugs, and I believe this country would do better if everyone would stop smoking marijuana and doing all these drugs and causing racism and violence out in the streets,” he continued. “I’m sorry, and I can’t even watch TV anymore. And I’m trying my best to maintain my composure, and I just want you to know I’m really sorry, and I hope you give me a chance to try to help others. I believe it’s your decision to decide where I go, and whether I live or die. Not the jury’s. I believe it’s your decision. I’m sorry.”
The case will now go straight to a penalty phase, to determine if he should face the death penalty, according to NBC News.
The plea comes nearly four years after Cruz, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and magazines and rode in an Uber to his former high school and began shooting indiscriminately at students and staff in the hallways and in classrooms. 17 students and staff were killed and 17 were injured making the massacre the deadliest high school shooting in US history.
In November 2018, while locked up and awaiting trial, Cruz attacked a correctional officer and subsequently pleaded guilty to four counts of battery and other related charges.