Authorities Name Shooting Suspect in Florida, Describe Disturbing Online Posts

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that the former student suspected of killing at least 17 people at a Florida high school on Wednesday was 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, who posted unnerving content online before the shooting occurred, according to USA Today.

Cruz had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for disciplinary reasons.

Israel said their investigation was ongoing and that the officers were going through the suspect's social media activity and found "very, very disturbing" material, but did not elaborate on what they found.

A former schoolmate recalled Cruz posting on Instagram, often posing with guns and knives, and discussing performing target practice with a pellet gun.

School superintendent Robert Runcie told reporters that he was unaware of any concerns raised about Cruz, while numerous students said that he was typically a "loner" who was kind of a "weird kid."

Cruz was apprehended after the attack killed at least 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.

Student Daniel Huerfano told the Associated Press that he remembered Cruz walking around the school with his lunch bag, which was strange.

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said he was "devastated and saddened" by the shooting and that he hoped authorities could find out more about why the shooter "carried out this carnage."

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was attacked by a gunman and shot in the head in 2011, said that the attack should "strike fear into all Americans," and called on Congress to "find the courage to pass the laws we need to protect our children."

Doctors at Broward Health North told reporters that eight victims and the suspect were brought to the hospital and that so far two have died, three remained in critical condition, and three were in stable condition.

Dr. Evan Boyar said that three patients were still in the operating room, but that the suspect was treated and released to police.

Boyar said all the victims were shot, but declined to give details on the ages or their injuries.

Eight other victims were taken to other hospitals, but he did not have information on their conditions.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said that the attack started outside the school and that authorities found 12 people killed inside the building, two more dead just outside the school, and one more in a nearby street.

At one point, the suspect Cruz was listed as a potential threat by school administrators, especially if he was carrying a backpack.

Cruz used a military-style rifle and that students recognized the suspect during the attack even though at times he was wearing a gas mask and smoke bombs.

Cruz was expelled and so he did not graduate from the school, but Jim Gard, a math teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said that administrators banned him from campus.

Other former students also recalled a quick temper and a history of making dark jokes about guns from Cruz.

19-year-old Jillian Davis recognized the man that people were describing across social media by her friends as Cruz, who participated in Davis's ninth-grade JROTC group, where he had "a lot of anger management issues."

Davis said he would joke about shooting people or establishments, which she used to think were normal, albeit violent jokes.

-WN.com, Maureen Foody