'Burn, Kill, Destroy': Parkland Shooter Blames Evil Voice In Interrogation Video
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Newly released video shows Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz being interrogated by police after his arrest and in the more than 10-hour video, he blames voice in his head, for making him do bad things.
Wearing a hospital gown and speaking to a law enforcement official, Nikolas Cruz begins to explain why he confessed to killing 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the afternoon of February 14th.
He blames a voice in his head for telling him to do bad things.
"What does it tell you to do?" asked Broward Sheriff's Detective John Curcio.
Cruz replies, "Burn. Kill. Destroy."
Cruz said he started hearing the voice years ago when his father died and it got worse when his mother passed.
"Tell me about them. What are the voices about?" asked Det. Curcio.
"It's one-- it's another voice, the evil side," said Cruz.
"Okay. And how long has that voice been going on?" asked Curcio.
"Years," Cruz replied.
Prosecutors released the video Wednesday, showing Cruz slouching in a chair, being repeatedly urged to speak louder and punching himself in the face when he is alone.
Watch: The full interrogation video showing confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz:
The footage contained the same material as a transcript released earlier in the week and both were edited to remove what authorities said was a direct confession to the massacre.
During the interrogation, Det. Curcio tells Cruz he doesn't believe there are voices.
The video file is available to download by clicking here.
In the beginning of the interview, the detective asked Cruz whether he would like some cold water. Cruz answered, "I don't know" and then when pressed by the detective why he didn't know, he told him, "I don't deserve it."
PHOTO GALLERY: Nikolas Cruz During His Interrogation
Cruz also claimed that he had designs on another violent attack, planning to shoot up a park a week before the mass murder at Stoneman Douglas.
"(Y)ou were going to start shooting people at the park?" Curcio asked.
Cruz responded, "Yeah."
Curcio asked if Cruz had picked out a park and Cruz nodded his head no. Cruz said ultimately, "I didn't want to do it."
At one point, with the police out of the room, the video shows Cruz take two fingers, put them to his left temple and pretend to pull a trigger. He gave a little shake after doing this. Later, he is seen punching himself hard in the face with both hands and occasionally scratching at his right arm with a small object he picked up off the floor.
At another point with Curcio out of the room, Cruz mutters, "Kill me," and then, later, "I want to die."
Cruz also got a visit from his brother Zachary. Zachary apologized for his past behavior towards Nikolas.
"I'm sorry I grew up being a dumb jerk to you and made fun of you," Zachary said.
A short time later, the brothers shared a hug with Nikolas breaking into sobs.
Zachary also gave his brother tough love, telling him that people believed Nikolas was a monster.
"Why?" Zachary asked. "This is not who you are? Like come on. Why did you do this?"
But Zachary told his brother he loved him and not to focus on the voice in his head.
"You say you have a demon?" Zachary said. "Try to find God because God is good. God will be there for you."
Hours later, deputies shackled Cruz and led him away to jail.
For Ryan Petty, the video is more than just another piece in the investigation of Cruz.
Petty's daughter, Alaina, died in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
He says the video and what Cruz reveals is also a teaching moment for the community.
"I think we have to understand why this happened and I think in the confession there are clues as to why Cruz did this," Petty said.
Petty says despite talk of voices and demons, he feels the video shows Cruz was well aware of his actions.
"What I saw was a shooter trying to come to grips with what he had just done," Petty said.
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jamie died in the shooting, said he has no interest in watching the video.
"I don't need to see him pour out his thought process," Guttenberg said. "He did it. He planned it.
Guttenberg pointed to the cellphone videos Cruz filmed prior to the shooting where he spoke of being "the next school shooter" as proof of premeditation.
For Guttenberg, the critical issue is bigger than Nikolas Cruz. He said it's about how the legal system failed and allowed someone with clear problems to get his hands on a gun.
"Law enforcement, the school district, the FBI, the mental health community, people around him socially, everybody knew he was a threat to those around him and there was no law in place to keep him from buying a weapon," Guttenberg said.
Guttenberg is working to try and change that system and prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.
No trial date has been set. Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted of the mass shooting.
