Defense attorneys for Parkland shooter begin second week taking deep dive into his past
FORT LAUDERDALE – Defense attorneys for the Parkland shooter began a second week Monday taking a deep dive into his past.
They are trying to sway at least one juror that he deserves mercy and not death for killing 17 at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Former Special Ed teacher Lynn Rodriguez, who taught him in third and fourth grades, said he was small for his age.
"He was quiet, aloof and didn't blend in with other kids," she said. "We knew he was bullied by his brother Zach."
And longtime family friend Finai Browd said although Cruz's adoptive mother doted on her two children.
"You can see the love she gave her children," Browd said.
But she says as the shooter got older there were alarming signs.
"He would go into tantrums when he didn't get his way; throw things, kick and scream," she said.
And when he was about 6, he saw his father suffer a fatal heart attack.
"He was crying and said daddy's dead."
Dr. Shameka Stanford, a speech and language pathologist, analyzed the shooter's records and met with him.
She testified that every part of his life, including emotion control, has been affected by a fundamental problem.
"He has been struggling with a language disorder that still persists today," she said.