Parkland shooter heard voices, didn’t get help

A safety commission formed after the February school massacre in Parkland, Fla., hears evidence this week about the events leading up to and following the shooting. The commission meetings and newly released documents from the investigation paint a troubling picture of 19-year-old suspect Nikolas Cruz. In the transcript of his post-shooting confession, which officials released Monday, Cruz said a voice in his head told him to “Burn, kill, destroy.” He called himself “worthless” and repeatedly said he wanted to die. Cruz claimed the voice in his head had spoken to him and told him to hurt people every day since his father died 15 years ago.

Last week, the Sun-Sentinel reported that Broward County, Fla., school officials determined they failed to respond to Cruz’s needs as required by federal disability law in the 14 months leading up to the attack. That information came from redacted portions of a consultant’s report the newspaper was able to view on a computer. Seventeen students and teachers died in the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.