Florida Shooter Nikolas Cruz Said He Wanted To Kill Mexicans And Keep Blacks In Chains In Group Message With Friends
Former friends and released private group messages revealed troubling statements made by Florida high school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz.
In a private Instagram group chat, 19-year-old Cruz wrote that he hated "jews, n****rs, immigrants,” reported CNN.
Cruz, who used an AR-15 to kill 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, posted several racist memes, messages, and threats to the group. In one message, Cruz talk about killing Mexicans, putting Black people back in chains and cutting their necks.
These messages may appear extremely troubling, yet a former friend of Cruz has spoken out about his frightening past behavior.
During a Tuesday appearance on Good Morning America, Ariana Lopez, who is a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said she’s had several “disturbing” experiences with Cruz.
“He used to sell knives out of his lunch box, which I thought was, like, insane because you can’t have knives ... [in] a school,” Lopez told GMA. “He would talk about how he sympathized with ... terrorists and how people who opposed them should be killed.”
During the shooting, Lopez said she hid in a closet.
While opening up about her encounters with Cruz, Lopez said he was violent toward his ex-girlfriend as well as Lopez and her friends.
“He talked about killing our parents, our friends, boyfriends and girlfriends,” Lopez added. “He would hit [his ex-girlfriend], he would threaten her, he would threaten her family and her friends, for talking to other guys.”
Lopez found Cruz’s behavior so disconcerting, she reported Cruz to school officials “multiple” times between 2016 and 2017. A representative for Broward County Schools has not commented on Lopez’s report.