Gunman expected to plead guilty in Stoneman Douglas mass shooting and jail assault case

WLRN 91.3 FM | By Rafael Olmeda

Published October 15, 2021 at 6:19 AM EDT

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Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during jury selection at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 6, 2021. He is facing four criminal counts stemming from his alleged attack on a Broward jail guard in November 2018. Cruz is accused of punching Sgt. Ray Beltran, wrestling him to the ground and taking his stun gun.

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz plans to plead guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, sources confirmed late Thursday.

He also plans to plead guilty in the jailhouse assault case scheduled to start next week, the Sun Sentinel has learned.

WSVN-Channel 7 broke the news of the mass shooting pleas late Thursday afternoon, citing unnamed sources. The Broward Public Defender’s Office, which represents the confessed gunman, has not verified or disputed the report, which sources have confirmed to the Sun Sentinel. Lawyers in the case are scheduled to appear at a status hearing Friday morning in front of Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer.

Read more from our news partner at The South Florida Sun Sentinel.