The Parkland school shooter has been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after massacring 17 students and staff.
Nikolas Cruz, 24, opened fire for around nine minutes at his former Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018.
The former student, who was 19 at the time, murdered 17 people and injured 17 others in the deadly attack.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer read out Cruz' sentence to a courtroom packed with the families of victims, issuing a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole for each of the 17 counts of murder.
Cruz was armed with a AR-15 semi automatic rifle and went into Building 17 shooting students from the hallway as students and staff tried to run for their safety.
He was charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder after pleading guilty to all charges.
Families were left disgusted Cruz wasn't given the penalty as he will face life in prison instead.
Before handing out the sentencing, Judge Scherer thanked the families for giving their impact statements. She said: “The way that you have grieved so gracefully and have shown extraordinary restraint throughout this process is something that I’ve never seen."
One of Cruz' youngest victims was just 14.
During the sentencing hearing, the families of the victims gave testimony to their lost loved ones.
Victoria Gonzalez, the victim of Joaquin Oliver, said: “My justice does not lie in knowing if you live or if you die. My justice lives in knowing that I loved.”
Describing the day she saw her daughter Alyssa's dead body, mum Lori Alhadeff said, “I tried to warm her body with my hands. She was so cold. I remember that I touched her in the multiple areas where Alyssa was shot … All I wanted to do was bring Alyssa back to life.”
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was among the students killed, spoke out on October 13 following the decision Cruz would not receive the death penalty, he said: "I could not be more disappointed in what happened today."
At the sentencing he called on Broward County Public Defender Gordon Weekes, who defended Cruz, to resign.
“You did your job, you got him from not getting the death penalty,” he added. “I hope you’re all proud of yourselves.”
The killer had been diagnosed with ADHD, autism and obsessive compulsive disorder and attended a school for teenagers with behavioural problems.
However, after wanting to return to Stoneman High School, his behaviour started to get more troublesome.
He was taken in by his mum's friend after she died in 2017 of pneumonia.
However, Cruz was ordered out the house after a month as he wanted to keep a stash of large guns.
By February 2017, and struggling at school with poor grades, he withdrew from the school.
His mum's friend called 911 on three separate occasions as she was concerned with his behaviour.
He had moved out and, at the time of the shooting, he was living with a schoolfriend's family.
But just three days later he purchased a semiautomatic rifle which would be used to gun down his old high school.
According to authorities police were reportedly concerned with Cruz's behaviour and were called regularly to his house - however he was never arrested.
And despite telling his friends of his interest in guns and school shootings, the FBI failed to follow up on the tip-offs they received.
Just before the shooting he had recorded three videos on his mobile phone admitting he wanted to be remembered for the massacre he was about to undertake.
At the time of the shooting, he carried a rifle bag with a semiautomatic rifle and 300 rounds of ammunition as he walked into the high school building.
It was there where he began shooting at anyone who walked past, which were students and staff members, as the massacre lasted nine minutes and left 17 people injured and 17 dead.
He did not enter any classroom and instead aimed fire at students and teachers in hallways or hidden inside classrooms.
Cruz shot at the victims from the doorway and returned to the people he had killed to shoot them again.
After the shooting, he abandoned his gun, tactical vest, and ammunition as he casually walked down a residential street.
CCTV footage from inside McDonald's shows he went to the fast food chain for something to eat with his sister's friend just moments after the shooting.
An hour later he was arrested by police.
His victims were Alyssa Alhadeff, 14; Scott Beigel, 35; Martin Duque, 14; Nicholas Dworet, 17; Aaron Feis, 37; Jaime Guttenberg, 14; Christopher Hixon, 49; Luke Hoyer, 15; Cara Loughran, 14; Gina Montalto, 14; Joaquin Oliver, 17; Alaina Petty, 14; Meadow Pollack, 18; Helena Ramsay, 17; Alex Schachter, 14; Carmen Schentrup, 16; and Peter Wang, 15.
