Nikolas Cruz had dreams of killing people and being covered in blood four years before he carried out the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to chilling evidence presented in court.
Jurors at the 23-year-old’s sentencing trial were shown a letter on Thursday sent from school therapist Rona O’Connor Kelly and school psychiatrist Nyrma Ortiz for Broward School District to Cruz’s psychiatrist Dr Brett Negin on 5 June 2014 .
At the time, Cruz was enrolled at Cross Creek School in Broward County, Florida, for children with behavioural challenges.
In the letter, sent with the consent of Cruz’s adopted mother Lynda Cruz, the mental health professionals detailed some of the chilling behaviour the then-teenager was displaying at home and at school.
They wrote that Cruz was aggressive and paranoid, had an obsession with guns and had confided in someone at school about his disturbing dreams.
“Per recent information shared in school he dreams of killing others and is covered in blood,” the letter says.
Cruz was described as being “very irritable and reactive” both at home and at school, with “oppositional and defiant behaviours” and a tendency to become “verbally aggressive”.
“He seems to be paranoid and places the blame on others for his behavioral problems,” the letter reads.
“He has a preoccupation with guns and the military and perseverates on this topic inappropriately.
“At home, he continues to be aggressive and destructive with minimal provocation. For instance, he destroyed his television after losing a video game that he was playing.”
The letter also states that Cruz “punches holes in the walls” when upset and that a hatchet that the teenager was known to use suddenly vanished from the family home.
“Nikolas has a hatchet that he uses to chop up a dead tree in his backyard. Mom has not been able to locate that hatchet as of lately,” the letter reads.
The school mental health experts conclude by saying that they were sharing their findings with Dr Negin so that he could “reassess” Cruz’s medication management over the summer break.
“In our opinions his response to medications has been limited at best,” they write.
The letter reveals that experts were aware of Cruz’s “paranoid” state of mind and “aggressive” behaviour years before he carried out the Parkland massacre.
However, despite the warnings, no action was taken.
Dr Negin, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, testified on Thursday that he never received the letter.
Dr Negin treated Cruz from January 2012 up until August 2017 – six months before the mass shooting.
During that time, he diagnosed Cruz with Disruptive Behaviour Disorder after finding he had difficulties communicating with peers.
“His social skills as a whole were impaired,” Dr Negin told the court.
From the age of three, Cruz was treated for a variety of diagnoses for developmental, mental health and behavioural issues.
However, Dr Negin told the court that he saw “nothing” during his treatment of Cruz to suggest he would go on to carry out such an attack.
“There is nothing in the record that would signify that [he was planning a mass shooting] whatsoever,” he said.
The release of the chilling memo comes as Cruz’s defence continues to present its case, trying to convince jurors to sentence him to life in prison without parole rather than the death penalty.
Last October, Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder over the Valentine’s Day massacre.
On 14 February 2018, the then-19-year-old – who was a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas – travelled to the school in Parkland, Florida, armed with an AR-15.
There, he stalked the corridors of the freshman building, murdering 17 students and staff members.
His attorneys are seeking to show that Cruz’s actions that day were the culmination of his life up to that point – from him being exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb through his birth mother, to behavioural and psychological issues from an early age, and the deaths of both of his adopted parents.
