Florida school shooting suspect in custody

PARKLAND - The 19-year-old suspect in a deadly school shooting in Florida has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Nikolas Jacob Cruz was booked into the Broward County Jail early Thursday, still wearing the hospital gown he was given after being treated for labored breathing following his arrest. He was later questioned overnight before being booked into jail.

Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz was a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. He is accused of entering the campus just before school was dismissed on Wednesday afternoon and opening fire on students and teachers.

Officials said another 14 people have been treated at area hospitals.

Cruz, who is listed at 5-foot-7 and 131-pounds, is being held without bond. Jail records don't list an attorney for him.

A sheriff said the bodies of 12 of the 17 victims in a mass shooting at a Florida high school were found inside the building.

A statement from Broward Sheriff Scott Israel says two other bodies were discovered outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, another was found a short distance away along a local road and two others died at a hospital.

Dr. Evan Boyer, the medical director at Broward Health North's Department of Emergency Medicine, told reporters that the suspect was among 17 patients taken to local hospitals after the shooting.

Shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was initially taken by ambulance to Broward North hospital for treatment for labored breathing after his arrest. Then he was taken to sheriff's headquarters for questioning overnight. He was still wearing a hospital gown when he was brought to the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale for booking Thursday.

The 19-year-old suspect in a deadly rampage at a Florida high school is being booked into jail after being questioned for hours by state and federal authorities.

Television footage showed Nikolas Cruz being escorted by sheriff's deputies from the Broward Sheriff's headquarters to the county jail in Fort Lauderdale early Thursday morning.

Seventeen people were killed as gunfire erupted at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School just before classes ended Wednesday afternoon.

Cruz was captured in a quiet neighborhood about two miles from the school. Sheriff's officials said in an email that Cruz was initially taken to a hospital for labored breathing before being questioned at sheriff's headquarters.

Counselors are being made available for students, teachers and staff, but the school will remain closed as an investigation continues.

AP