A Report On Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting

On a Valentine day, 2018 in Parkland, the state of Florida, there were shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School which broke the history of mass school shootings. This incident was after the case of the extermination of twelve pupils and a teacher and the perpetrators at the Columbine High School in April 1999 in the state of Colorado. The shooter killed a total of 17 people and injured 17 other people. This shooting came at a span where there was controversy over gun control after a follow up on a previous mass shooting in Las Vegas the past year. This essay seeks to describe the massacre at the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting.

At around 2 pm to 3 pm, according to survived students at the school, a former student by name Nikolas Cruz came to school via Uber where he was dropped. According to reports by the police, Nikolas was carrying a rifle and a backpack when a staff member recognized him. He entered the building shortly before dismissal time which contained 30 classrooms with the availability of 900 students and about 30 teachers. He opened fire that rendered teachers and students confused as earlier there had been a fire alarm in the premises.A staff, however, activated a lockdown after hearing gunfire. Cruz fired into four classrooms, killing eleven people before he proceeded to the next floor where he shot into two more classes, but no one died.

Nicholas continued to the third floor where he had his last shooting killing six more people on the passageway before what believed that his rifle malfunctioned then blended with the scared students. The perpetrator further went to a store and bought a soda than a fast food where he ate before leaving and was finally stopped by the police at around 3:40 pm and arrested with no grounds. He was taken to a hospital due to laboured breathing later released after 40 minutes to police custody. The school surveillance video later revealed the perpetrator as Cruz, and hence he was arrested.

The suspect and perpetrator, Nikolas Cruz, was adopted at birth. His parents, however, passed away, leaving him as an orphan. Lynda his mother died in 2017 November which was three months before the schools shooting. He lived with his friends and relatives. Nikolas was working at a dollar store and enrolled at a GED program. Cruz was a performer as he received many awards. However, Nikolas was an air rifle team member. Besides this, he had been struggling with behavioural affairs since his middle school he had been interchanged between schools six times in three years in an attempt to deal with his issues. He was transferred to a school of learning and emotional disabilities in 2014 after he made threats to other students.

Cruz returned to the Stonemans Douglas high school where he was later expelled on disciplinary grounds. Cruz had a history but could not be banned from the county of Broward school system entirely; hence there was a different placement. Psychiatrists advocated he must be admitted in a residential with treatment facility as he was a hazard to his fellow students. He was reported to have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), depression and autism. He was however not treated as he had previously gotten some intellectual health treatment. He also had alarming accounts, and online profile and the posts he posted were very creepy.

In terms of his repeated behaviour, we can draw the fact that Cruz struggled and often faced a lot of investigations which questioned his character as young as he was. His former associate in class stated that Cruz often joked about gun violence and guns. The anomie theory in juvenile delinquency explains that juveniles lack a way of making themselves happy hence they alternate to means that will satisfy them. In this case, Nikolas having already earned an unlikable human being he resulted in other means where he saw violence as a way of solving his issues.

Nikolas Cruz confessed his crime when he was held captive. He was accused of 17 counts of intentional murder. On counts of his behaviour, his defenders would request an insanity defense however he was put under observation in an isolation cell for a suicide watch. According to the law, Cruz was to get a death penalty or a life sentence without a parole possibility as it was a mass shooting. Cruz had a difficult growing up, and according to the psychodynamic theory, the subconscious cerebral process can affect a child's control of his or her personality. Cruz indeed had a developmental disability where he was preoccupied with depression. However, his behaviour in other instances, such as an aggravated assault on an officer proves otherwise. Cruz was jailed since February 2018 up to date. His sentence has not yet been dictated as his death penalty trial has not again been dictated.

In conclusion, The Criminal Justice System role is to protect the public to prevent crimes arrest lawbreakers and most importantly change lawbreakers to be better in the society. Nikolas Cruz has issues that he needs help to recover. He needs help as no criminal confesses to his crime without interrogation. It is clear he is a psycho, but the death penalty does not help him; it only teaches other psychos there is no place for them. A life sentence with no parole is favourable to him as it is a crime to kill, and there are consequences.

References

• Chabrol, H., Van Leeuwen, N., Rodgers, R., & Séjourné, N. (2009). Contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic personality traits to juvenile delinquency. Personality and individual differences, 47(7), 734-739.
• Dietrich, K. N., Douglas, R. M., Succop, P. A., Berger, O. G., & Bornschein, R. L. (2001). Early exposure to lead and juvenile delinquency. Neurotoxicology and teratology, 23(6), 511-518.
• Black, M. I. (2018). The boys are not all right. New York Times, 371-86.