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The Latest: Florida school shooting tragedy

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Nikolas Cruz jailed on 17 counts of murder-photo Broward Co. Sheriff

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on the deadly shooting at a Florida high school (all times local):

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the 19-year-old suspect in the deadly school shooting, Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for “disciplinary reasons.”

Israel says he doesn’t know the specifics of what happened.

But Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, says Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend.

School officials haven’t confirmed such accounts, but say Cruz was attending another school in Florida’s Broward County after his expulsion.

One 17-year-old junior, Dakota Mutchler, says he used to be friends with Cruz but hadn’t seen him in more than a year after his expulsion. He says of Cruz: “He started progressively getting a little more weird.”

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This story has been corrected show that Dakota’s last name is Mutchler, not Mentcher.

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott has joined law enforcement agents near the site of the deadly school shooting and offered his condolences to the victims’ families and survivors. He says the attack that claimed at least 17 lives “is just absolutely pure evil.”

Scott told reporters Wednesday evening he can’t imagine what the families of the victims are going through. He also said he would be visiting hospitalized survivors.

Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County also said at the news conference that 12 of the dead have been identified but some weren’t carrying identification and that slowed confirmation efforts. The families are being notified.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says the state will cover funeral expenses for the victims and counseling for survivors.

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A law enforcement official says the former student suspected of killing at least 17 people at a South Florida high school posted highly disturbing material on social media before the shooting rampage.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Wednesday the 19-year-old suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Israel says investigators are dissecting the suspect’s social media posts and found material that is “very, very disturbing.” He didn’t elaborate.

An ex-schoolmate recalled Cruz posting on Instagram about killing animals and said he talked of doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.

A school superintendent, Robert Runcie, told reporters he didn’t know of any concerns raised about Cruz.

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A student who escaped the deadly shooting at a Florida high school says he knew the suspect when he attended the school, describing him as a “weird kid” and something of a “loner.”

Authorities said 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz is in custody after the attack Wednesday that claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Officials say Cruz was a former student, having been expelled from the school.

Student Daniel Huerfano told The Associated Press he remembers seeing Cruz walking around the school with his lunch bag, adding, “He was that weird kid that you see … like a loner.”

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Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida says he is “devastated and saddened” by the deadly shooting attack on a high school in his state.

The Republican senator says he remains ready to assist state and local officials and “anyone impacted by this horrible tragedy.” He also said in his statement Wednesday that he hopes authorities can find out in coming hours and days more about why and how the killer “carried out this carnage.”

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz of Florida has also issued condolences. She called the attack in Parkland, Florida, “another senseless school shooting … this time in our community.”

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Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords says the deadly school shooting in Florida should “strike fear into all Americans.”

The Democrat from Arizona was shot in the head and survived a shooting attack in 2011.

She said in a statement Wednesday that her heart goes out to the victims and survivors of the school shooting that claimed 17 lives in Parkland, Florida. She called it the latest attack in an epidemic of gun violence that continues “days after deadly day.”

She also says in a statement that the latest in a series of deadly U.S. shootings should stir fresh resolve in Congress to “find the courage to pass the laws we need to protect our children.”

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Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida says the shooter in the attack on a high school in his state wore a gas mask and had smoke grenades.

The Florida Democrat said in an interview with CNN that he was briefed on the attack by the FBI.

Nelson says the attacker “set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. And there the carnage began.”

Nelson says he did not know if the gunman had used the smoke grenades but he assumed that’s why he had a gas mask on.

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Doctors say 16 people wounded in a deadly shooting at a Florida high school were taken to area hospitals for treatment and two of them have died.

Dr. Evan Boyar at Broward Health North told reporters Wednesday that eight victims and the suspect had been brought to his hospital. Boyar says two victims died, three were in critical condition and three were in stable condition. He says three patients were still in the operating room Wednesday evening. The suspect was treated and released to police.

Boyar says all the victims were shot but declined to comment on their ages or the extent of their wounds.

Eight other victims were taken to other hospitals, but he did not have information on their conditions.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says a 19-year-old former student has been arrested in the shooting that killed 17 people.

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This item has been clarified to note that 16 people were transported to be treated but two of them died.

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Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida says lawmakers have offered their condolences after the latest school shooting, this one in his district.

Deutch says he found his colleagues’ outreach — in his words — both “heartwarming and obscene.” Authorities say 17 people died in Wednesday’s attack in Parkland, Florida, and the suspect, a 19-year-old former student, is in custody.

The congressman says he uses the word “obscene” because school shootings have become so commonplace that lawmakers were offering him guidance on what to expect in coming days as constituents grapple with the tragedy.

Deutch says it’s time to find ways to save lives. He says he wants President Donald Trump to call those concerned to the White House to “do something” about gun violence.

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A Florida sheriff says that 12 of the 17 confirmed deaths in Wednesday’s shooting attack on a high school were found in the school.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the attack began outside the school Wednesday afternoon.

He told reporters that authorities subsequently found 12 people dead in the building and two more dead just outside the school and one more in a nearby street. Israel says two other people died later under medical treatment.

Israel says the suspect, a 19-year-old former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, is in custody. He says the male suspect was checked out at a hospital after his arrest and is now being held at a secure location in a public building.

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5:20 p.m.

A federal official has identified the Florida school shooting suspect as Nicolas Cruz.

The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official says he had been briefed on the investigation into the shooting at the South Florida high school, but was not authorized to discuss it publicly.

Authorities in Florida say the shooter opened fire at the school Wednesday afternoon, killing “numerous” people. The shooting sent frightened students running out into the streets and SWAT team members swarming the building.

Authorities later announced that they had taken a former student, about 18 years old, into custody after locating him off the school grounds.

5 p.m.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel says the shooting suspect is an 18-year-old former student at the South Florida school where the shooting erupted.

He says the teen was arrested without incident after he was located off the school grounds in a nearby community. He didn’t give details of when the suspect had attended the school. But the sheriffs says the suspect wasn’t currently enrolled.

“I don’t know why he left,” Israel said, briefing reporters Wednesday afternoon.

He also says the shooter was outside and inside the school at points during the attack. He didn’t elaborate.

The sheriff says several SWAT teams have gone in during the afternoon and are clearing every building at the Parkland high school complex to ensure no other threat remains.

He also says the FBI has stepped in and will begin processing what he describes as “horrific scene.”

Said the sheriff: “This is a terrible day … This is catastrophic.”

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4:40 p.m.

Parents described a chaotic and frightening situation as they rushed to find their children in the frantic minutes after reports of a shooting at a South Florida high school began to spread.

Caesar Figueroa says he was one of the first parents to arrive at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He says he saw police officers bringing out big weapons as they approached the school.

Figueroa’s office is only five minutes from the school where he sends his 16-year-old daughter.

“My wife called me that there was an active shooter and the school was on lockdown. I got on the road and saw helicopters, police with machine guns. It was crazy and my daughter wasn’t answering her phone.”

According to Figueroa, she texted him that she was hidden inside a closet at school with friends: “She was in a classroom and she heard gunshots by the window. She and her friends ran into the closet.”

Another parent, Beth Feingold, says her daughter sent a text at 2:32 p.m. saying “We’re on code red. I’m fine.” But she then sent another text soon afterward saying, “Mom, I’m so scared.” The girl was later able to escape the school unharmed.

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4:25 p.m.

A school official says there are numerous fatalities from the high school shooting in South Florida.

Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie says “There are numerous fatalities. It is a horrific situation.” He added, “It is a horrible day for us.”

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office tweeted Wednesday afternoon that “so far we have at least 14 victims.” The tweet added: “Victims have been and continue to be transported to Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health North hospital.”

The sheriff’s statement didn’t elaborate on the victims or their injuries.

4:10 p.m.

Authorities say the shooter at a South Florida high school is now in custody.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office gave no details in briefly tweeting that development. It did not identify the shooting suspect nor say how the person was taken into custody.

Television footage showed police putting a person in the back of a police car outside the high school.

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A shooting at a Florida high school Wednesday sent students rushing out into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building, and police warned that the shooter was still at large. School officials said they had received reports of multiple injuries.

Coral Springs Police said on their Twitter account Wednesday that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was locked down and that students and teachers inside should remain barricaded until police reach them.

Len Murray’s 17-year-old son, a junior at the school, sent his parents a chilling text around 2:30pm: “Mom and Dad, there have been shots fired on campus at school. There are police sirens outside. I’m in the auditorium and the doors are locked.”

A few minutes later, he texted again: “I’m fine.”

Ambulances converged in front of the school, and TV news broadcasts showed at least one person being wheeled to an ambulance on a gurney. Live footage also showed emergency workers appearing to treat possibly wounded people on the sidewalks. It wasn’t immediately clear how many were wounded. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that the shooter was still at large even as the evacuation was underway.

Television footage showed police in olive fatigues, with weapons drawn, entering the school, then dozens of children frantically running and walking quickly out. A police officer waved the students on, urging them to quickly evacuate. Some students exited the building in single-file rows with hands raised overhead to show they carried no weapons. Others held onto other students as they made their way out past helmeted police in camouflage with weapons drawn.

The Broward Schools department said on its website that it had received reports of “possible multiple injuries” and was dismissing students. The department said students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire and the school immediately went on lockdown.

Murray said he raced to the school only to be stopped by authorities under a highway overpass within view of the school buildings. He said he told his son to save his battery and stop texting, while the boy’s mother told him to turn off his ringer.

No information has been provided yet to parents, he said. “I’m scared for the other parents here. You can see the concern in everybody’s faces. Everybody is asking, ‘Have you heard from your child yet?'” Murray said.

Murray said he’s had just one thought running through his mind since he got his son’s text: “All I keep thinking about is when I dropped him off this morning – I usually say, ‘I love you,’ and I didn’t think morning. He’s 17, he’s at that age, and I didn’t say it this morning, and I’m just kicking myself right now over and over and over. Say it early and often, I’m telling you.”

The high school is a sprawling complex set on a tract in the South Florida community of Parkland, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) north of downtown Miami.

The school had just over 3,100 students in the 2016-2017 academic year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Major streets run along two sides and an expressway passes nearby on the other not far from a residential neighborhood of single family homes.

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