Zachary Cruz Visits School Where His Brother Murdered 17 People to ‘Soak It All In’

By Tanasia Kenney | Published on March 20, 2018

The brother of Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was arrested Monday, March 19, for allegedly trespassing on school grounds at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Zachary Cruz, 18, was arrested around 4:30 p.m. after reportedly riding his skateboard through the campus, which is still feeling the effects of the deadly Valentine’s Day massacre his brother carried out just last month. Cruz reportedly told police he wanted to “reflect on the school shooting and soak it all in.”

Nikolas Cruz, 19, now faces the death penalty for killing 17 people in a mass shooting at the South Florida high school. He was formally arraigned last Wednesday, March 14, on a 34-count indictment stemming from last month’s shooting and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf, ABC News reported.

Authorities say Zachary Cruz had previously been warned to stay away from the school, according to the arrest report. Video of him trespassing was caught on school surveillance, showing him breach multiple locked doors and gates to ride his board through the campus.

The young man was booked into the Broward County Sheriff’s Jail where his bond was set at $25.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way