Page 5 - ARUBA TODAY

A5
U.S. NEWS Thursday 15 February 2018

At Press Time:
17 killed in Florida high school shooting; former student arrested

Continued from Front proached the campus.
The 19-year-old shooter, "My wife called me that
Nikolaus Cruz, was a stu- there was an active shoot-
dent at the school at one er and the school was on
time -- but was not at the lockdown. I got on the
time of the shooting -- road and saw helicopters.
and had been previously … It was crazy and my
expelled for disciplinary daughter wasn't answering
reasons, Israel said. Inves- her phone." She finally text-
tigators have started "dis- ed him that she was inside
secting" the websites and a closet with friends. Len
social media that Cruz was Murray's 17-year-old son,
on and said some of the a junior at the school, sent
findings were "very disturb- his parents a chilling text
ing," Israel said. He said the around 2:30pm: "Mom and
shooter, who had at least Dad, there have been shots
one rifle and multiple mag- fired on campus at school.
azines, was outside and There are police sirens out-
inside the school at points side. I'm in the auditorium
during the attack. He was and the doors are locked."
taken into custody "without A few minutes later, he text-
incident" about an hour af- ed again: "I'm fine." Murray
ter he left the school. Israel said he raced to the school
said police were waiting Waiting for word from students anxious family members gather at Coral Springs Drive and the Saw- only to be stopped by au-
for the SWAT team to give grass Expressway, just south of the campus ,following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas thorities under a highway
High School in Parkland, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018.
them the all-clear so that (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) overpass within view of the
they could go inside. school buildings. He said he
Noah Parness, a 17-year- police in camouflage with around the school. set on a tract in the South told his son to save his bat-
old junior, said the fire weapons drawn. Feingold said her daughter Florida community of Park- tery and stop texting, while
alarm went off for the sec- The Broward Schools de- struggled with anxiety so land, about 45 miles north the boy's mother told him to
ond time of the day about partment said on its web- she knew that she needed of downtown Miami. The turn off his ringer. No infor-
2:30 p.m. He said he and site that students and staff to stay calm. She told her school had just over 3,100 mation has been provided
the other students calmly heard what sounded like daughter in a phone con- students in the 2016-17 ac- yet to parents, he said. "I'm
went outside to their fire drill gunfire and the school im- versation when she was ademic year, according scared for the other parents
areas when he suddenly mediately went on lock- still inside a school build- to the National Center for here. You can see the con-
heard several pops. down. Beth Feingold said ing that a SWAT team was Education Statistics. Major cern in everybody's faces.
"Everyone was kind of just her daughter, Brittani, sent there to protect her. She streets run along two sides Everybody is asking, 'Have
standing there calm, and a text at 2:32 p.m. that said, said she told her: "Your dad and an expressway passes you heard from your child
then we saw a bunch of "We're on code red. I'm is on one side of the build- nearby on the other not far yet?"' Murray said. Mur-
teachers running down fine," but sent another text ing, and I'm on the other." from a residential neigh- ray said he’s had just one
the stairway, and then ev- shortly afterward saying, Feingold said there had borhood of single-family thought running through his
erybody shifted and broke "Mom, I'm so scared." been a fire drill in the morn- homes. Caesar Figueroa mind since he got his son’s
into a sprint," Parness said. "I Brittani later was able to es- ing. Then in fourth period, said when he got to the text: “All I keep thinking
hopped a fence." cape the school, but was someone pulled the fire school to check on his about is when I dropped
Television footage showed running along a busy road alarm again and shouted 16-year-old daughter, he him off this morning — I usu-
police in olive fatigues, with for part of the time, in what code red. The high school saw police officers drawing ally say, ‘I love you,’ and I
weapons drawn, entering was a very chaotic scene is a sprawling complex machine guns as they ap- didn’t think morning. q
the school, then dozens of
children frantically running
police officer waved the Man gets 20-40 years in 30-year-old murder cases
and walking quickly out. A

students on, urging them
to quickly evacuate. Some NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A face murder charges in the lene Ranstrom and 32-year- in the same building as the
students exited the building man has pleaded guilty to case, and he agreed to re- old Brenda Warner. They women. Charges against
in single-file rows with hands killing two New Hampshire turn there permanently af- were bound, beaten and them were dropped due to
raised overhead to show women 30 years ago and ter serving his sentence. stabbed to death in their suppressed evidence and
they carried no weapons. been sentenced to 20 to 40 He pleaded guilty Wednes- Nashua home in 1988. mistrials. They were arrest-
Others held onto other stu- years in prison. day to two counts of sec- At the time, Caplin and An- ed again in 2011.
dents as they made their David Caplin was brought ond-degree murder in the thony Barnaby, both Cana- Barnaby's scheduled for
way out past helmeted from Canada in 2015 to deaths of 48-year-old Char- dian Micmac Indians, lived trial in August.q