45°F
weather icon Cloudy
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

Florida shooting suspect’s brother arrested at same school

Law enforcement agents line up as students head back to school at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 in Parkland, Fla. With a heavy police presence, classes resumed for the first time since several students and teachers were killed by a former student on Feb. 14. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald via AP)
Nikolas Cruz is lead out of the courtroom after an arraignment hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Cruz is accused of the shooting rampage that killed 14 students and three school employees at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File)
Students walk out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as part of a nationwide protest against gun violence, Wednesday, March 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. Organizers say nearly 3,000 walkouts are set in the biggest demonstration yet of the student activism that has emerged following the massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Annabel Claprood, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School touches one of the roses at the Pulse night club, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 in Orlando, Fla. Parents and students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School made a stop at the site of the nightclub attack on their way back home from Tallahassee. Students returned to class at the high school, Wednesday, following the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed several students and teachers. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Seventeen people dressed as angels stand Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, at the memorial outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., for those killed in a shooting on Feb. 14. Organizer Terry Decarlo said the idea originated after the death of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was tortured and murdered in 1998. Decarlo said the costumes now travel to disasters and mass shootings around the country. “We want to the survivors to know angels are looking over them and protecting them,” Decarlo said. (AP Photo/Terry Spencer)
More Stories
US strikes Venezuela, says leader Maduro has been captured
People bring flowers and candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar, where a devastating ...
Swiss investigators believe sparkling flares atop wine bottles ignited fatal bar fire
A hearse car drives as police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Conste ...
About 40 people dead, 115 injured in fire at Swiss Alpine bar during New Year’s celebration
Shoppers wait in line to enter Macy's flagship store on Nov. 28, 2025 in New York. (AP Photo/An ...
New Year’s Day: What’s open? Retailers. What’s closed? Government and banks
The Associated Press
March 19, 2018 - 5:24 pm
 
Updated March 19, 2018 - 11:08 pm

MIAMI — The brother of the teen charged with killing 17 people at a Florida school was arrested Monday afternoon for trespassing at the same school, authorities said.

Zachary Cruz, 18, was arrested at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and charged with trespassing on school grounds, a Broward Sheriff’s Office report said.

The teen was recorded by security cameras riding his skateboard at the school around 4:30 p.m. though he had received prior warnings from school officials to stay away from the campus, the report said.

Zachary Cruz told the arresting deputy that he was there to “reflect on the school shooting and to soak it in,” according to the report. It added that the teen had “surpassed all locked doors and gates and proceeded to ride his skateboard through school grounds.”

The youth’s brother, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 14 shooting.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that documents show some officials recommended in September 2016 that Nikolas Cruz be involuntarily committed for a mental evaluation, though the recommendation was never acted upon. Such a commitment would have made it more difficult, if not impossible, for Cruz to have legally obtained a gun such as the AR-15 assault-style rifle used in the shooting.

Jail records didn’t immediately list an attorney for Zachary Cruz.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
 
US strikes Venezuela, says leader Maduro has been captured
By Regina Garcia Cano and Konstantin Toropin The Associated Press

The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” and said its president, Nicolás Maduro, had been captured and flown out of the country.

People arrive to Times Square during New Year's Eve celebrations, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in ...
Chilly New York welcomes 2026 in grand style — PHOTOS
The Associated Press

Crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered as the New Year’s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descended down a pole in Times Square.

MORE STORIES