‘We Want Him Dead, We Want Him Forgotten’: Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruz’s Apology Falls Flat With Victims Families

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) — Relatives of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre shook their heads oregon broke down successful tears connected Wednesday greeting arsenic gunman Nikolas Cruz pled guilty to 17 counts of execution and 17 counts of attempted first-degree execution and past apologized to the victims successful a abbreviated speech.

“I’m precise atrocious for what I did. And I person to unrecorded with it each day,” adding, “I can’t unrecorded with myself sometimes.” He besides said helium wished it was up to the survivors to find whether helium lived oregon died.

READ MORE: Parkland Shooter Nikolas Cruz Pleads Guilty To All Counts In School Massacre

Fred Guttenberg, begetter of slain 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, said his apology meant nothing.

“Irrelevant,” said Guttenberg successful the courtroom hallway pursuing the proceedings. “We’re conscionable 1 measurement person to justice.”

Watch: What is adjacent for Parkland shooter

Gena Hoyer, parent of 15-year-old unfortunate Luke Hoyer, was wearing a representation of her lad astir her neck.

“We’re gladsome contiguous has gone this mode and we are hoping for accountability with the decease penalty,” she said adding his apology was “useless.” She said his attorneys were “trying their champion to support a violent, evil idiosyncratic disconnected decease row.”

Luke Hoyer’s mother, Gena, wears a representation of her slain lad during the alteration of plea proceeding for the gunman connected Oct. 20, 2021 (CBS4)

Luke was Tom and Gena Hoyer’s 3rd child. She said Cruz “does not merit beingness successful prison, beingness successful situation is simply a life. He deserves thing much than the decease penalty.”

Tom Hoyer besides had beardown words for gunman who killed his daughter.

“Just looking for justness present and justness for us, is we privation him dead. We privation him forgotten. I don’t ever privation to perceive this kid’s sanction again.” He added helium though the courtroom apology to the families was “self-centered.”

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When they left, the Hoyers were going to sojourn their lad Luke, astatine the cemetery.

Tony Montalto, the begetter of 14-year-old Gina Montalto, called the killer’s apology a “ridiculous statement.” He excessively wore a representation of his slain child.

Tony Montalto and his wife, parents of slain pupil Gina Montalto, speech to the media pursuing the alteration of plea proceeding for Parkland massacre weapon Nikolas Cruz connected Oct 20, 2021. (CBS4)

In effect to the gunman’s statement, “If I were to get a 2nd chance, I volition bash everything successful my powerfulness to effort to assistance others,” Montalto said, “If helium wanted to bash thing for our families, helium shouldn’t person killed our loved ones.”

Montalto said being successful the aforesaid country arsenic his daughter’s slayer was the 2nd astir uncomfortable happening he’s ever had to do. “The archetypal astir uncomfortable happening was hugging our daughter’s lifeless body,” helium recalled.

Montalto said portion helium understands the blameworthy pleas are the archetypal measurement successful the judicial process, helium has a precise circumstantial thought of what justness means.

“As a society, we should privation radical who perpetrate heinous acts, similar wide shootings, to beryllium prosecuted to the fullest grade of the law. We request to find a mode to forestall radical from wanting to transcript these things. We request the media to assistance america successful reducing the notierty these shooters get. We request to forestall them from being idols to others. We request to ever retrieve the victims and who they were, the agleam and vibrant people. Finally, we request each Americans to travel unneurotic and assistance america halt schoolhouse shootings. If you spot something, accidental something. If you person a suspicion, you request to study it to someone. We request to beryllium proactive and forestall different families from suffering the nonaccomplishment we person of our beauteous 14-year-old Gina Rose.”

Anthony Borges, a erstwhile Stoneman Douglas pupil who was changeable 5 times and severely wounded, said aft the proceeding that helium accepted Cruz’s apology, but noted that it was not up to him to determine the confessed murderer’s fate.

“He made a determination to sprout the school,” Borges said. “I americium not God to marque the determination to termination him oregon not. That’s not my decision. My determination is to beryllium a amended idiosyncratic and to alteration the satellite for each kid. I don’t privation this to hap to anybody again. It hurts. It hurts. It truly hurts. So, I americium conscionable going to support going. That’s it.”

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Cruz faces a minimum of beingness successful situation and maximum of the decease penalty. Jury enactment for the punishment signifier of the proceedings is scheduled to statesman January 4.

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