{"id":53402,"date":"2018-02-15T01:32:26","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T01:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=53402"},"modified":"2018-02-15T01:32:26","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T01:32:26","slug":"florida-school-shooting-suspect-troubled-former-student-obsessed-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=53402","title":{"rendered":"Florida school shooting suspect is \u2018troubled\u2019 former student obsessed with guns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The suspected gunman in Wednesday\u2019s deadly school shooting in Florida is a \u201ctroubled\u201d former student obsessed with firearms \u2014 who was once identified as a potential threat to his fellow classmates, according to a report.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI stayed clear of him most of the time,\u201d said one teen, who spoke to WSVN, but didn\u2019t give his name.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a troubled kid, and he\u2019s always had a certain amount of issues going on,\u201d the boy explained. \u201cHe shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling. He showed me [his guns] personally through his phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The alleged shooter \u2014 identified as Nikolaus Cruz, 19 \u2014 had even \u201cjoked\u201d about taking out his schoolmates on several occasions, the student said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played around with the joke multiple times,\u201d the teen said. \u201cYou know, he knows the layout of the school. He can actually go ahead and he can pinpoint where all the students would be. He\u2019s been through the drills multiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Cruz had been banned from carrying a backpack on the campus of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., due to his alleged issues, the Miami Herald reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were told last year that he wasn\u2019t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,\u201d math teacher Jim Gard, who taught Cruz last year, told the newspaper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were problems with him last year threatening students,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess he was asked to leave campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Gard, school officials had sent out an email last year \u2014 warning teachers about Cruz and the alleged threats he was making against other students.<\/p>\n

Broward County School District Superintendent Robert Runcie, however, says this didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received no warnings,\u201d he told reporters Wednesday during a press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cPotentially there could have been signs out there,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cruz\u2019 classmates insist, though, that he was a well-known threat to the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people were saying it was going to be him,\u201d a student told WFOR-TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of kids threw jokes around saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school,\u201d they said. \u201cIt turns out that everyone predicted it. That\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew Walker, a junior, told ABC News that Cruz would often flash knives and guns he owned on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything he posts is about weapons,\u201d Walker said. \u201cIt\u2019s sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said Wednesday evening that investigators had begun \u201cdissecting\u201d Cruz\u2019 social media pages in search for clues about a potential motive.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of thing that come to mind are very, very disturbing,\u201d Israel told reporters, in reference to Cruz\u2019 posts.<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n