Video has emerged of the gunman who killed 17 people in a Florida high school plotting his upcoming massacre.
Nikolas Cruz, 19, entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14 armed with an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle. He shot 34 people including students and teachers before being arrested by police.
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Several cell phone video were released by the State Attorney on Wednesday (local time) which were recorded by Cruz in the lead-up to the shooting.
"My name is Nik and I'm going to be the next school shooter of 2018," he says into the camera in one of the videos.
"My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15... location is Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida. It's going to be a big event. When you see me on the news you'll all know who I am.
"You're all going to die," he concludes with a giggle, before mimicking the sound of gunfire.
In another video, Cruz can be heard talking but keeps the camera pointed at the ground as he outlines his plan to kill as many of his classmates as possible.
"Here's the plan: I'm going to take Uber in the afternoon before 2:40pm; from there, I'll go onto the school campus, walk up the stairs, load my bags, and get my AR and shooting people at the main courtyard - and people will die."
The final video appears to have been filmed on February 14, the day of the shooting.
"Today is the day, the day it all begins, the day my massacre begins," Cruz says.
"All the kids in the school will run in fear and hide. From the wrath of my power, they will know who I am."
He goes on to lament his "meaningless" life of "seclusion and solitude", and that he is tired of "being told what to do".
"I am nothing, I am no one... I hate everyone and everything," he says. "With the power of my AR, you will all know who I am."
The videos were released as part of the prosecutors' case against Cruz, and will be used as evidence to prove the shooting was premeditated.
"It wasn't a spur of the moment decision," the former head of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, Peggy Brill, told The Miami Herald.
Cruz is facing 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors say they plan to seek the death penalty.
Newshub.
