Florida Shooting : Shooter charged with 17 counts of murder

A tragedy struck at a high school campus in Parkland, Florida on February 14th as a 19 year-old youth opened fire. Florida state Police say that the teenager accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school on Wednesday (Feb 14) has confessed to the shooting. The individual has been identified as Nikolas Cruz (19). Recalling the event, Cruz said he arrived on campus and began shooting students, before abandoning his weapon and escaping. The attack, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is the deadliest US school shooting since 2012. Nikolas Cruz has appeared in court charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Meanwhile the FBI has admitted it received a tip-off about him last year (2017).

The victims

In a heroic attempt the school's assistant football coach Aaron Feis jumped in front of students to shield them from the active shooter. However, Feis succumbed to his injuries later-on. His team tweeted that he "died a hero". https://twitter.com/MSDEagles/status/964055383970123776 Foreign media further confirmed the death of Chris Hixon, who was the athletic director at the school. According to a student, a teacher named Scott Beigel died while trying to lock the door. Among the student victims so far identified are, four 14 year-old's, two 15 year-old's, one 16 year-old, two 17 year-old's and two 18 year-old's. Yesterday (Feb 15), thousands of people attended a candlelit vigil to honor the victims. There were chants of "no more guns" as speakers demanded tougher gun laws.