Judge Sentences Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruz to Life in Prison

UPDATE: A judge sentenced Nikolas Cruz to life in prison without parole on Nov. 2, per NBC News. He was responsible for the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

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A jury has spared Nikolas Cruz the death penalty.

On Oct. 13, Judge Elizabeth Scherera announced that a jury has recommended Cruz—who shot and killed three staff members and 14 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018—serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. This recommendation was for all 17 first-degree murder counts against the 24-year-old. The jury deliberated for less than 24 hours before announcing their decision. 

After the verdicts were read, judge Scherera officially set a sentencing date for Nov. 1. During the November hearing, families of those killed in the shooting will be allowed to read victim impact statements.

On Valentine’s Day in Feb. 2018, a then-19-year-old Cruz shot and killed 17 people and injured 17 others after entering his former school in the Miami suburb with an AR-15 rifle.