Florida gunman charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder
The 19-year-old suspect in a school shooting in Florida has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, was a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons," but was currently enrolled in Broward County Public Schools.
Cruz, described by fellow students as "troubled," was arrested without incident in the nearby town of Coral Springs after the Valentine's Day shooting and taken to hospital with minor injuries, the sheriff said.
"We have already begun to dissect his websites and things on social media that he was on and some of the things ... are very, very disturbing," Sheriff Israel said.
"If a person is predisposed to commit such a horrific event by going to a school and shooting people ... there's not anybody or not a lot law enforcement can do about it."
Sheriff Israel said both students and adults had been killed, 12 of whom have now been identified.
He said at least 14 were taken to hospital and two had died there of their wounds. He added one of those killed was a football coach, and one student injured was a deputy sheriff's son.
"This is a terrible day for Parkland," Sheriff Israel said, speaking of the city of about 30,000 people, located 80km north of Miami.
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"We were told last year that he wasn't allowed on campus with a backpack on him," maths teacher Jim Gard said in a Miami Herald interview.
"There were problems with him last year threatening students, and I guess he was asked to leave campus."
Cruz was also said to have been in the Junior ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) programme while at school.
A law enforcement source told CBS News that the gunman pulled a fire alarm before opening fire, but Sheriff Israel could not confirm that report.
The shooting, one of 18 at a school since the start of the year, will once again throw the spotlight on the epidemic of gun violence in the United States, where there are 33,000 gun-related deaths annually.
But when questioned at a press conference, Florida Governor Rick Scott - who described the massacre as "just pure evil" - declined to make a statement on gun control in the aftermath of the shooting.
"There's a time to continue to have these conversations about how through law enforcement, how through mental illness funding that we make sure people are safe, and we'll continue to do that," said Mr Scott, a Republican.
At the same briefing, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said the state will cover the costs of funerals and counselling for survivors.
"We will continue to work together as a team, as a family, and love and take care of all of these victims and their family members," she said.
Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky told CNN she had spoken to a number of students after the shooting.
"They were very scared," she said. "And almost in shock when they came out."
Students, some with their hands in the air, were led out of the school by heavily armed police officers and an armored vehicle filled with a SWAT team on the scene.
Student Jeiella Dodoo told CBS News that she and her schoolmates evacuated calmly after hearing what they thought was a routine fire alarm.
"The alarm went off so we had to evacuate from our classes," she said. "Then we heard gunshots.
"I heard about six gunshots," she said, "and then some people started running and then everyone started running because we were like 'If it's real, then just run'."
Teacher Melissa Falkowski told US networks that she had helped 19 students squeeze into a closet with her.
"We were in there for probably 40 minutes. We were locked in the closet until SWAT came and got us," she told CNN.
Police officers in helmets, bulletproof vests and armed with automatic weapons could be seen stationed at several points around the sprawling school complex, which serves nearly 3,000 students.
"Just a horrible day for us," said the superintendent of the county's school district, Robert Runcie.
US President Donald Trump offered his "prayers and condolences to the families of the victims" on Twitter.
But since January 2013, there have been at least 291 school shootings across the country - an average of about one a week, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a non-profit group that advocates for gun control.
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