Paula McMahon, Tonya Alanez and Lisa J. HuriashContact Reporters

Sun Sentinel

8/6/18      Interview with Nikolas Cruz  – Parkland Shooter

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He also said the voice kept him from feeling lonely and agreed it was like an imaginary friend.

Though a doctor at a local hospital had medically cleared Cruz to be interviewed by investigators, he said several times that he couldn’t remember basic facts like his phone number and where he had stayed the night before.

At one point, he asked to see a psychologist and said he had never seen one before, though other records indicate he had received mental health counseling and treatment in the past.

Cruz said he tried to kill himself at least twice in the months and years before the massacre. On the first occasion, he said he was lonely and binged on vodka, tequila and wine.

Depressed after his mother’s death, he said he attempted suicide again two months before the shooting. He said he took a large dose of over-the-counter drugs, including ibuprofen and Advil. He survived both attempts, he said.

“Cool looking,” Cruz said when the detective asked him why he bought the legally purchased AR-15 rifle he used in the attack at the school. The gun cost about $560. The ammunition, he said, he bought online. He estimated he had spent about $4,000 on his guns and ammunition. Cruz worked at a dollar store and had inherited some money from his mom.

He bought his first gun when he was 18, stating that it was to protect himself “from the voice,” which he claimed told him to cut himself and to kill himself. Cruz said he had gotten in trouble, but hadn’t been prosecuted, for shooting at a chicken with his pellet gun when he was about 13.

Cruz also spoke about a girl, Emily, who he said was the only girlfriend he ever had: “She was the love of my life.” After the brief relationship with Emily, he said he’d had other dates, but “I scared them,” Cruz said. “I don’t know why I scare them.”

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer examined the entire confession before ruling that most of it could be made public without any negative effect on Cruz’s right to a fair trial.

His defense team declined to comment on his confession on Monday. They have publicly acknowledged that he is guilty and repeatedly said he is offering to plead guilty in exchange for multiple life terms in prison, which would avoid the need for a trial. State prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

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One more more time, reporters, you tell us he tried to kill himself. What hospital treated him?  Records indicate he got ‘counseling’. Where? For how long? Was he on medication? Why not? Tell us the name of the hospital administrator for the specific hospital and let us hear from the administrator regarding the hospital’s stated procedure for releasing suicidal and mentally ill patients. Do they keep them for three days, give them fluids, vitamins a pat on the hand and send them home? Tell us the exact procedure and protocol. Tell exactly and in detail why it is you should not be fired and why, in detail, your hospital should not be shut down.

You want to report some news? Report on that news.