Written by Maria Quan, CNN
Since the February 14 shooting in Parkland, Florida, teens have organized national protests to fight for gun control and tighter restrictions on military-style weapons.
Gun control — including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines — has become the rallying cry for many Americans as a new school year begins in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting that left 17 dead.
The Parkland shooting was preceded by similar tragedies in Texas and Colorado that also left young lives lost.
At a news conference on February 22, Michigan District Attorney William Forsyth said text messages sent to the accused shooter by his parents were among new evidence obtained as part of the investigation. He also mentioned references made to “Die America, Die.”
In some text messages to a potential girlfriend, the alleged shooter, identified as Nikolas Cruz, expressed hatred of Parkland, Florida and to rob schools there and elsewhere.
“We need to let our children know that it is their own fault for being brainwashed by these ‘people,’” he wrote.
In one text message to a family member, Cruz wrote “Heard someone said school shootings just won’t end without ‘this maniac’ killing more people,” Forsyth said. “That just makes me sick.”
In February 2016, Eric and Lynda Cruz told investigators that Nikolas came home upset after an argument about school and the “disgusting” environment in school, Forsyth said.
They were confused by his actions at school that day, he said. In a text message to Lynda Cruz, her son wrote, “I am so f–ing sorry mom. I have to kill someone today,” Forsyth said.
A previous incident included Cruz at school using racial slurs, Forsyth said.
Other court documents reportedly show Nikolas Cruz’s extensive travel between his home in Deltona, Florida, and around the country.
His father died in November 2004 from pneumonia, and his mother died on November 1, 2017, from a blood clot after having multiple surgeries for blood clots in her lungs, according to the official cause of death, Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office.
CNN has reached out to lawyers for Cruz for comment and will update this story when they respond.