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Nicolas Cruz mugshot

Source: Broward County Jail / Broward County Jail

The shooting incident that took place Wednesday (Feb. 14) at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida shocked residents in the state, and others around the nation. The shooter identified as Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of murder, and it appears this act was brewing inside the former student of the school where he unleashed mayhem.

CNN.com reports:

While the family didn’t see any signs that Cruz might perpetrate the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook, it appears others saw worrying indicators.

Lewis, of course, mentioned Cruz suffered from depression. Cruz had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas. A former classmate said Cruz had shown him guns, and other students now say they worried he was violent. His social media posts also paint what Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel called a “very disturbing” picture.

Israel also alluded to Cruz’s mental illness during a news conference, while Broward County Mayor Beam Furr said the teen “had been dealing with mental health issues.”

“He had been undergoing some treatment. We can’t go into detail on that,” Furr said. “I don’t know if he was exactly on law enforcement’s radar, but it wasn’t like there wasn’t concern for him. He had not been back to the clinic for over a year, so there’s been a time where he was receiving treatment and then stopped.”

As the outlet shares, Cruz, 19, was expelled from the high school and had fallen into a depression. After his adoptive mother passed, a family took him in because of the connection with their son. According to their accounts, the moments leading up the shooting did not give any indication Cruz would carry out this heinous act.

Online and abroad, however, students and observers say that Cruz exhibited violent tendencies and showed off guns to others. The family that took him also knew he had a gun but was promised that it would be safely kept from view. What makes the matter more troubling is that the FBI and teachers warned others about Cruz and the potential for violence down the road, all sparked by Cruz filming a YouTube video saying he would become a “professional school shooter.”

Photo: Broward County Jail