The "salt in the wound" is that the FBI had the suspect on their radar due to threats made on his social media platforms, as well as pictures of his weapons on Instagram, and the FBI didn't do anything. There were 14 students and 3 faculty members that lost their lives on that day.
The suspect: Nikolas Cruz. He used a SEMIautomatic AR-15 rifle and even took an Uber to the school at around 2:20 pm. When he was done he fled with the rest of the students "to blend in and get away." He was subsequently caught about an hour after the shooting, according to a New York Times article.
The article states "After leaving the school, Mr. Cruz walked to a Walmart, and bought a drink at a Subway. He also stopped at a McDonald’s. He was arrested by the police without incident as he walked down a residential street at 3:41 p.m."
The article goes on to say "The F.B.I. said on Thursday it received information last year about a comment made on a YouTube channel which has been attributed to the gunman, but was unable to identify the person. In Florida, an AR-15 is easier to buy than a handgun."
Some articles state that Nikolas Cruz blamed some of his past behavior and depression on the death of his parents and the fact he was living with another family.
"The family that took him in, the Sneads, had seen signs of depression in Mr. Cruz, but nothing indicated that he was capable of this kind of violence, Jim Lewis, the family’s attorney, said. The family had allowed Mr. Cruz to bring his gun with him to their house, insisting that he keep it in a lockbox.
Mr. Lewis had encouraged Mr. Cruz to attend adult education courses, work toward his G.E.D., and take a job at a local Dollar Tree store, he said in a brief interview. The Sneads’ son, a junior, knew Mr. Cruz from Stoneman Douglas High.
On Wednesday, Mr. Cruz and the Sneads’ son were texting until 2:18 p.m., Mr. Lewis said — about five minutes before the first 911 calls about the shooting. “But there was nothing crazy in the texts,” Mr. Lewis said.""
(The New York Times article can be found here: Florida School Shooting)
Now that 11 days have passed since the tragic shooting, students are calling for a change in the country for gun control. Since there have been dozens of mass shootings in the United States alone since the Columbine school shooting. Some include: Pulse Night Club in Orlando, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook Elementary School, just to name a few.
Many want to disregard what the young people have to say about new gun control "since they were the generation that was eating tide pods" or "it won't stop a criminal from finding a way, since they don't follow laws." But my question is where does it stop? We need to address gun control AND mental health. Adam Lanza, the one responsible for the Sandy Hook School shooting, KILLING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL KIDS, the guns legally belonged to his family. He was on the spectrum for Autism. Nikolas Cruz LEGALLY bought his gun AND buying the AR-15 WAS EASIER TO BUY THAN A HANDGUN under Florida law.
No student should go to school in fear that they may never come home.
These are some of the scared messages parents and loved ones get. Imagine if it was your child, your sibling or your parents in that building? Wouldn't you want change to save one more family from going through this?