By Rachel Blevins

![](https://thefreethoughtproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cruzvid-696x366.jpg)
<p>&nbsp;Parkland, Florida – Cellphone footage has been released that shows &nbsp;Nickolas Cruz in the hours before he opened fire on Marjory Stoneman &nbsp;Douglas High School. The disturbing videos give insight into a deranged &nbsp;individual who excitedly plotted the massacre and looked forward to the &nbsp;fame and notoriety it would bring him. “<em>Hello, my name is Nik, and I’m going to be the next school &nbsp;shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15 and a &nbsp;couple tracer rounds</em>,” Cruz said as he filmed himself before carrying out a shooting that killed 17 people.&nbsp;</p>
<p>“<em>The location is Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida. It’s gonna be a big event, and </em><em><strong>when you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am</strong></em>,” Cruz said. He then chuckled and said in a high-pitched tone, “<em><strong>You’re all going to die</strong></em>! <em>Pew pew pew pew pew. Ah yeah. Can’t wait.</em>”&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the next video, Cruz is wearing what appears to be a bright orange &nbsp;shirt, khaki shorts, black tennis shoes, and a black cast on his arm. &nbsp;With the camera aimed at the ground, he can be heard saying, <em>“</em><em><strong>Today &nbsp;is the day. The day that it all begins. The day of my massacre shall &nbsp;begin. All the kids in school will run in fear and hide. From the wrath &nbsp;of my power, they will know who I am</strong></em><em>.”</em> <em>“I am nothing. I am no one. My life is nothing and meaningless. Everything I hold dear I let go,” </em>Cruz said in a monotone voice.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In addition to a <a href="https://thefreethoughtproject.com/nikolas-cruz-said-wanted-professional-school-shooter-fbi-knew-nothing/">troubled past</a> that included dozens of incidents in school and numerous reports to the police, Cruz was also reportedly <a href="https://thefreethoughtproject.com/family-members-say-florida-school-shooter-antidepressants-emotional-issues/">taking antidepressants</a> for depression and emotional issues.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>“I hate everyone and everything. With the power of my AR, you will all know who I am,”</em> Cruz continued. <em>“I’ve &nbsp;had enough being told what to do and when to do it. I’ve had enough of &nbsp;people telling me I’m an idiot and a dumbass. In real life, you’re all &nbsp;the dumbass. You’re all stupid and brainwashed by the political &nbsp;government programs. You will all see. You will all know who my name &nbsp;is.”</em> Cruz recounted his plan for the shooting on Feb. 14, noting that he &nbsp;intended to take an Uber to the school before 2:40 p.m. with his gear. &nbsp;</p>
<p>According to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/sfl-florida-school-shooting-timeline-20180223-htmlstory.html">report</a>&nbsp;from the Sun Sentinel, Cruz was picked up by an Uber at&nbsp;<strong>2:06 p.m.&nbsp;</strong>and dropped off at the school at&nbsp;<strong>2:19 p.m.</strong>&nbsp;He then entered the freshman building at&nbsp;<strong>2:21 p.m.</strong> The shooting reportedly lasted&nbsp;<strong>7 minutes</strong>, which &nbsp;included enough time for a freshman student named Chris McKenna to find &nbsp;Cruz loading his rifle, and then to flee to get help when Cruz told &nbsp;him,&nbsp;<em>“things are gonna start getting messy.”</em>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The school confirmed that Cruz exited the building at&nbsp;<strong>2:28 p.m.</strong>&nbsp;and &nbsp;blended in with other students who were fleeing campus.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Given that he &nbsp;may have set off more warning signs if he had been fully clothed in body &nbsp;armor when he was riding in an Uber or entering the school, the &nbsp;timeline gives him just&nbsp;<strong>7 minutes</strong>&nbsp;to load his rifle, put on his body armor, shoot<strong>&nbsp;31 people</strong>, discard the gun and the body armor and then exit the building.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While Cruz did not mention the presence of body armor in the video, &nbsp;he did mention it in a group chat on Instagram he shared details about &nbsp;the firearms he owned, made racist comments and shared his desire to &nbsp;commit mass murder, according to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/us/exclusive-school-shooter-instagram-group/index.html">report</a> from CNN. In one message, Cruz wrote, “<em>Guys I got paid 330.&nbsp;</em><em><strong>I am buying body armor</strong></em><em>.”</em>&nbsp;</p>
<p>He &nbsp;then posted receipts that documented his purchase and asked the group &nbsp;if it was legal to wear body armor in school. When a member asked why he &nbsp;wanted to know, Cruz replied, “<em><strong>School shooters</strong></em>.”&nbsp;</p>
<p>Cruz is currently facing life in prison, and the videos were released &nbsp;by prosecutors on Wednesday.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Andrew Pollack, the father of one of the &nbsp;girls who was killed, <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-reg-florida-school-shooting-phone-video-release-20180530-story.html">told</a> the Sun-Sentinel that at the very least, the videos should serve as evidence that Cruz is not eligible for an insanity plea. <em><strong>“It just shows this kid was competent. This whole thing was premeditated murder</strong></em>. <em><strong>This kid knew exactly what he was doing</strong></em>,” Pollack said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>While Stoneman Douglas High School has yet to release surveillance &nbsp;footage of the shooting, the videos of Cruz plotting the massacre are &nbsp;the first evidence the public has been given to show that Cruz was the &nbsp;culprit. One of the most notable things about the videos from Nickolas Cruz is &nbsp;that he believed his life was meaningless and hoped that by carrying &nbsp;out the massacre, he would gain the fame and notoriety that mass &nbsp;shooters before him have received. That alone serves as a troubling &nbsp;reminder that the mass shootings that have happened in the United States &nbsp;in recent years have much deeper roots than what can be solved by &nbsp;passing more laws.&nbsp;</p>
https://youtu.be/rNMGzsxJgkM