White Supremacy Group Claims Nikolas Cruz as Member

Indrajit S Saluja

PARKLAND, FLA (TIP): It was a horrific sight at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School here on February 14, the day of love, with 17 young students shot dead and another fourteen wounded, five with life-threatening injuries, according to hospital officials, in the worst shooting in a school in 2018. The shooting suspect-Nikolas Cruz- is said to be an expelled student of the school. Cruz used a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle which, according to officials, he had bought legally to snuff out precious lives of students from the school he had been to. A pall of gloom descended on Parkland which once was described as the most peaceful place with a small community.

The authorities said the AR-15 rifle that Cruz used in the attack was purchased legally, at Sunrise Tactical Supply in Florida, according to a federal law enforcement official. “No laws were violated in the procurement of this weapon,” said Peter J. Forcelli, the special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Miami. In Florida, an AR-15 is easier to buy than a handgun.

The 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, set off a fire alarm to draw students out of classrooms shortly before the day ended. The suspect was taken into custody without incident about a mile away from the school. He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Thursday, February 15. He appeared before a judge in Broward County via video conference, clad in an orange jumpsuit and shackled around his hands, feet and waist.

After Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012 in which 20 first graders and six adults were killed, more than 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings. Since then, there have been at least 239 school shootings nationwide. In those incidents, 438 people were shot, 138 of whom were killed.

The data used here is from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that began tracking school shootings in 2014, about a year after Sandy Hook.

A white nationalist group claims the suspected gunman as a member.

According to The Associated Press, Jordan Jereb, the leader of Republic of Florida, said that his group wants Florida to become its own white ethno-state. He said his group holds “spontaneous random demonstrations” and tries not to participate in the modern world.

 Jereb also said Cruz had “trouble with a girl” and he believed the timing of the attack, carried out on Valentine’s Day, wasn’t a coincidence.

The latest tragedy has made many demand stricter gun control laws. They are convinced that President Trump’s argument that a good man with gun can tackle a bad man with gun is not a solution to the problem. It remains to be seen how the movement to have some kind of gun control gets the support of lawmakers, many of whom depend heavily on National Rifle association (NRA) money.

Here are some Republican politicians sorrowing the shootings, who took money from NRA.

Marco Rubio: ‘Today is that terrible day you pray never comes’ – $3,303,355 reportedly accepted from NRA

Cory Gardner: ‘I am heartbroken for the students… in this tragedy’ – $3,879,064

Rob Portman: ‘Heartbreaking news out of Florida. Jane and I send our prayers’ – $3,061,941

Bill Cassidy: ‘Praying for the students, teachers and first responders’ – $2,861,047

Thom Tillis: ‘Tragic news out of Florida. Please keep the victims… in your thoughts and prayers’ – $4,418,012

Ken Buck: ‘Praying today for the students and all those impacted’ – $800,544

With lawmakers in the pocket of NRA, how do we expect a legislation which hurts NRA?

Over to Americans and the lawmakers.