Flashes of rage. Family loss. The troubled life of Nikolas Cruz.

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February 16, 2018 6:44 AM

Before he was hauled into a jailhouse hearing room Thursday, head bowed and shackled at the wrists and ankles, Nikolas Cruz had been causing trouble as long as anyone here could remember.

Neighbors said patrol cars were regularly in his mother’s driveway. More recently, Cruz, 19, had been expelled from his high school. He posted pictures of weapons and dead animals on social media.

Almost immediately after Cruz turned up at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Wednesday and, the authorities said, killed 17 people with a semi-automatic rifle, the disconnected shards of a difficult life began to come together.

Cruz had no criminal history before the shootings, according to state law enforcement records. But his childhood was certainly troubled.

Cruz and his brother, Zachary, had been adopted, and were raised largely by their mother, Lynda Cruz, especially after their father, Roger P. Cruz, died suddenly in 2004 at age 67. Lynda Cruz died in November, and people who knew Nikolas said he had taken the loss hard.

Paul Gold, 45, said he lived next door to the Cruzes in 2009 and 2010 and stayed in touch with Lynda Cruz over the years.

“He had emotional problems and I believe he was diagnosed with autism,” Gold said of Nikolas Cruz. “He had trouble controlling his temper. He broke things. He would do that sometimes at our house when he lost his temper. But he was always very apologetic afterwards.”

He said Cruz’s mother had done what she could to take care of him, and that the two had an extremely strong bond.

“His mother was his entire life and when he lost her, I believe that was it for the boy’s peace of mind,” he said.

Other neighbors said Cruz was a regular source of agitation. Helen Pasciolla said Lynda Cruz had called sheriff’s deputies to the house numerous times. Craig Koblitz, 62, said some neighbors had suspected Cruz of burglarizing a nearby house a few years ago.

Sarah Edelsberg, 16, remembered being frightened by Cruz when they were in middle school together. Cruz would walk by her and her friends and shout at them — randomly and menacingly, she said.

A schoolmate’s family, the Sneads, took in Cruz because his friend felt badly that Cruz was now alone in the world, said Jim Lewis, a lawyer for the family.

On Wednesday, Cruz and the Sneads’ son were texting until 2:18 p.m., Lewis said — about five minutes before the first 911 calls about the shooting.

“But there was nothing crazy in the texts,” Lewis said.

The New York Times

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