Everything We Know About The Florida High School Shooting That Left 17 Dead

At least 17 people are dead after a teenager opened fire inside his old high school in Parkland, Florida. Here’s what we know so far about the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

1. The Victims

At least 17 people are dead. Students and adults are among the dead, according to The Washington Post. Authorities have withheld the victims' names from the public until their families can be notified. 

2. The Wounded

At least 14 others were wounded. Of those 14, at least five are fighting suffering life-threatening injuries, according to hospital officials.

3. The Traumatized

Joel Leffler, whose son and daughter attend the school, told NBC News that his son had to jump a fence to escape the chaos.

"My son called me as it was unfolding, running. He had to jump a fence," Leffler said. "My son heard around eight gunshots as he was running out."

His daughter is in shock.

"My daughter, who was there in the freshman hall where the shooting took place — she's in shock right now, and she's being taken out by SWAT," Leffler said. "She saw multiple dead bodies."

4. Videos from inside the school show the terror that took place.

Students who were in lockdown recorded videos and took photos on their phones, posting the footage on their social media accounts. One shocking video captures gunshots ring out as students scream.

5. The suspect was an ex-student.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly stalked the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle. According to NBC News, he had recently been expelled from the school.

6. He reportedly pulled a fire alarm.

It is believed that the shooter pulled a fire alarm to draw out more students so he could up the death toll, CNN reported.

7. He allegedly posed as a fleeing student.

It is believed that Cruz tossed his weapon aside and ran alongside his ex-classmates, pretending to be a scared student instead of a suspected shooter in order to escape.

8. Cruz’s dramatic capture was caught on camera.

NBC News captured footage of Cruz being apprehended by police.

9. He’s being called disturbed.

Cruz was allegedly obsessed with firearms and reportedly bragged about killing animals. He also allegedly once brought knives to school, reported The New York Times.

10. He had a disturbing online imprint.

Last fall, someone tipped off the FBI after a YouTube user with the name "Nikolas Cruz" posted a comment, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter" on a video, BuzzFeed News reported. In another YouTube comment, he allegedly wrote, “I whana [sic] shoot people with my AR-15," "I wanna die Fighting killing sh*t ton of people" and "I am going to kill law enforcement one day they go after the good people."

11. This shooting is one of the deadliest in US history.

This horrendous school shooting is one of the deadliest in recent history. In fact, three of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history have taken place in the last five months alone, The New York Times reported.

The Parkland shooting also marks the 18th school shooting in US in 2018, reported CNBC. It's the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.

[Photo: YouTube]