Parkland school shooter Nicholas Cruz received a life sentence without parole at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday.
Ahead of sentencing, closing arguments were held at the Florida courthouse. Survivors and family members of the 17 students and staff who were slain directed impact statements at Cruz, who was sitting handcuffed in a red jumpsuit.
“You were a hateful bigot with an AR-15 and a God complex,” Samantha Fuentes, a Former Classmate of Cruz. “Without your stupid gun, you are nothing. My name is Sam Fuentes and you will not forget me. I’ll never forgive or forget what you’ve done.”
“My hope for you is that you are miserable for the rest of your pathetic life. My hope for you is that the pain of what you did to my family burns and traumatises you every day,” said Lori Alhadeff, a victim’s mother.
Last month, a Florida jury rejected the possibility of the death penalty and handed down a verdict of life in prison for the mass murder.
Cruz, who pleaded guilty last year, shot 17 people and wounded 17 others at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Valentine’s Day 2018.
