Free Republic

Mom Lynda Cruz paid $50,000 to adopt alleged school shooter Nikolas Cruz from his “drug addict” biological mother when he was just 3 days old, and then dropped another $15,000 on his younger half-brother, Zachary, when she found out the troubled mom was pregnant again, according to a report. “Nik’s biological mother was just a complete screw-up, drug addict and thief,” former friend and neighbor Trish Duvaney told RadarOnline. “I even said to Lynda: ‘You don’t know the mother’s background.’ Both children were born after one-night stands. The birth mother, she didn’t even really know who the two biological fathers...

Just months before Nikolas Cruz killed 17 at his former high school in South Florida, the host family who had taken him in immediately after his mother's death warned local law enforcement that the 19-year-old had "used a gun against people before" and "has put the gun to others' heads in the past," according to records obtained by CNN. It's the latest indication of how law enforcement encountered warning signs about Cruz's violent behavior before he attacked students and teachers..... In November, Cruz's mother died after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Lynda Cruz was a widow raising her two adopted teenage...

PARKLAND, Fla. — The woman (Roxanne Deschamps) left in charge of the accused Florida school shooter and his brother after their mom died last year filed court papers the day after the massacre seeking to be put in charge of the dead woman’s will — then had the alleged shooter’s brother involuntarily committed, a source close to the family revealed to The Post.

Florida gunman Nikolas Cruz is willing to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty and spare the community from reliving the massacre in a trial, his public defender said. Cruz is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder for the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, who is representing the confessed gunman, said there's no question he killed the 14 students and three staff members. "The only question is, does he live or does he die?" Finkelstein asked. Prosecutors would need to agree not to ask for capital punishment and...

The brother of the Florida school shooter has been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, according to a report. Nikolas Cruz’s younger brother, who turns 18 next week, was involuntarily removed from his home on Friday under what is commonly known as the Baker Act, according to the Palm Beach Post. While an adult may be held and examined for up to 72 hours, the limit for minors is 12 hours. Both Nikolas Cruz and his brother were adopted by a loving older couple. But Roger Cruz passed away years ago, while their mother Lynda Cruz died on Nov....