Nikolas Cruz Questioned for Hours, Then Charged

Nikolas Cruz was on Thursday morning formally charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and booked into Broward County Main Jail. The Miami Herald reports the 19-year-old will be arraigned later Thursday and denied bond based on the charges. Cruz was taken to a hospital for labored breathing in the wake of the attack, reports the AP, and was subsequently questioned for hours by state and federal authorities. The New York Times notes that of the 10 deadliest shootings in modern US history, three—the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Las Vegas massacre, and November's Texas church shooting—have occurred in the last five months.

President Trump this morning tweeted his thoughts on the mass shooting: "So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" (More Florida school shooting stories.)