FEB 15 2018, 7:31 AM ET
At least 17 people were killed when a teen opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
Fourteen others were wounded, five of whom suffering life-threatening injuries, hospital officials said.
Authorities said the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, concealed himself in the crowd fleeing Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was arrested in nearby Coral Springs and later charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Cruz had recently been expelled from Douglas for disciplinary reasons and was enrolled elsewhere in the district, Broward County schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said.
What We Know:
17 people were killed and another 14 were wounded.
Suspect identified as Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder
Cruz, 19, was believed to have used an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle.
A YouTube user named "Nikolas Cruz" reportedly posted "I'm going to be a professional school shooter" on the site.
President Donald Trump has tweeted that there were "many signs the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed."
The gunman was believed to have been armed with a AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle and multiple magazines, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. It was unclear whether he had any other weapons, Israel said.
Cruz was taken into custody off campus about an hour after he "committed this horrific, detestable act," said Israel, who added investigators were reviewing social media postings that he described as "very disturbing." The suspect was treated for "labored breathing" as a precaution but was later released from the hospital, according to officials.
"You come to the conclusion this is just absolutely pure evil," said Florida Gov. Rick Scott, his hands clutched over his chest.
Scott, a Republican whom the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund gave an "A+" rating, didn't address reporters' questions about how the gunman was able to obtain a semiautomatic rifle.
The FBI was alerted six months ago after a YouTube user named "Nikolas Cruz" posted a comment stating "I'm going to be a professional school shooter" on the video site, BuzzFeed reported early Thursday.
Cruz's mother died in early November and he had been staying with a local family — whose son is a junior at Douglas, the family's attorney told NBC Miami.
"He lived here without any concerns or issues for almost three months and they are shocked and horrified by the allegations being made," lawyer Jim Lewis said, adding that his clients are fully cooperating with investigators.
The general store chain Dollar Tree confirmed that Cruz worked at its Parkland branch and said it was fully cooperating with investigators.
The gunfire began outside the school and continued inside, where 12 of the victims were killed, Israel said.
All of those victims have been identified, he said, but no identities will be made public until the families of all of those affected have been notified.