Nikolas Cruz Has Been Charged With Premeditated Murder After The Florida School Shooting

Broward County Sheriff's Office

Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder following a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday.

Cruz was transferred to Broward County jail early Thursday and is expected in court later in the day.

Students and teachers streamed out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wednesday shortly before 3 p.m. local time as Cruz, a former student, opened fire with a AR-15–style rifle.

A teacher at the school said that he had previously been identified as a potential threat to students, and had been banned from taking a backpack onto campus, while a former classmate said he "talked about guns a lot."

Shortly after the charges were announced, President Donald Trump tweeted that there were "so many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior."

"Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!" he wrote.

In September, a Youtuber alerted the FBI to alarming comments that a user named Nikolas Cruz left on his videos.

"I'm going to be a professional school shooter," the user wrote.

A media briefing is expected to take place near the school at 10:30 a.m. local time, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel tweeted on Thursday morning.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.

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