Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was 'aggressive' as a child, witness says
Cruz murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A friend of Nikolas Cruz's adoptive mom testified in court Monday that the Parkland school shooter had behavior problems from the time he was a young boy.
Cruz, 23, had trouble eating and communicating. He also wore diapers when he was 5 years old, according to Finai Browd, whose video-taped deposition, recorded July 14, was played for jurors in Broward County Circuit Court.
"Children would find it difficult to play with Nick because he was aggressive," Browd said. His tantrums, she added, weren't like those of typical children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He would kick whatever, the floor, whatever, lay down and scream and cry but not like a normal tantrum a child has," she said. "It had to be his way or no way."
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Nikolas Cruz, 23, in court Monday, Aug. 22, 2022, at his penalty trial. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Browd's testimony echoed that of numerous prior defenses witnesses, who described Cruz as maladjusted and violent from a young age. Cruz, then 19, opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, killing 14 students and three staffers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cruz was adopted by Lynda and Roger Cruz when he was a baby, and they coped by giving him whatever he wanted when he misbehaved, Browd testified.
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The defense has argued that Cruz was born damaged after his birth mom, while pregnant with him, abused alcohol and crack cocaine. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Fort Lauderdale penalty trial will only determine whether Cruz is sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole.
A photo combination of Nikolas Cruz and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School building, where 17 people were murdered Feb. 14, 2018, in a mass shooting. (Carline Jean via Associated Press)
His defense lawyers are trying to overcome a powerful three-week presentation from prosecutors, which included harrowing testimony and graphic footage of Cruz using an AR-15-style rifle to slaughter 17 people for sport.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jurors visited the 1200 building, its walls still splattered with blood, and heard from parents who are forever altered after violently losing their children.