A 20-year-old FSU student, Phoenix Ikner the son of a sheriff’s deputy, killed two people and injured six others in a mass shooting, using his mother’s former service weapon.

Facts about the 20 years old Phoenix Ikner who is the Florida State University Shooter:

1-He was a White American
2-He was a Trump Supporter
3-He was a Republican #FloridaStateUniversity #FSU#FloridaState #PhoenixIkner pic.twitter.com/ymboJgBZFB

— (@Censored_Locks) April 17, 2025

Who is this badass at Florida State University pic.twitter.com/4CirOIr8sr

— Blake Logan (@BlakeCapa) April 17, 2025

In the midst of the chaos at Florida State University, the guy in the white shirt says it’s just another Thursday where he’s from. pic.twitter.com/KDmjy42SJM

— Scott (@RandomHeroWX) April 17, 2025

Video of someone walking past this woman in Florida State University has been going viral not even “what can I do to help”. She has been s*ot

Hope she is okay. FSU is under attack from a mad person. pic.twitter.com/4Ks0XISOzx

— Lord Bob Shit McShitface (@ShitMcShitface) April 17, 2025

The post WATCH: 2 dead, 6 injured in mass shooting at Florida State University appeared first on World Israel News.

Penalty phase to determine if 23-year-old mass murderer is executed or given life sentence.

By Terry Spencer, Associated Press

Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering 17 people during a rampage at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, leaving a jury to decide whether he will be executed for one of the nation’s deadliest school shootings.

Relatives of the victims who sat in the courtroom and watched the hearing via Zoom broke down in tears and held hands across families as Cruz entered his pleas and later apologized for his crimes.

“Today we saw a cold and calculating killer confess to the murder of my daughter Gina and 16 other innocent victims at their school,” said Tony Montalto. His daughter was 14 and sitting outside her classroom when Cruz shot her at close range numerous times. “His guilty pleas are the first step in the judicial process but there is no change for my family. Our bright, beautiful, and beloved daughter Gina is gone while her killer still enjoys the blessing of life in prison.”

The guilty pleas will set the stage for a penalty trial in which 12 jurors will determine whether Cruz, 23, should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. Given the case’s notoriety, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer plans to screen thousands of prospective jurors. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Jan. 4.

Cruz entered his pleas after answering a long list of questions from Scherer aimed at confirming his mental competency. He was charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder for those wounded in the Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, located just outside Fort Lauderdale.

As several parents shook their heads, Cruz apologized, saying, “I’m very sorry for what I did. … I can’t live with myself sometimes.” He also added that he wished it was up to the survivors to determine whether he lived or died.

Parents scoffed at Cruz’s statement as they left the courtroom, saying it seemed self-serving and aimed at eliciting unearned sympathy. Gena Hoyer, whose 15-year-old son Luke died in the shooting, saw it as part of a defense strategy “to keep a violent, evil person off death row.”

She said her son was “a sweet young man who had a life ahead of him and the person you saw in there today chose to take his life. He does not deserve life in prison.”

Anthony Borges, a former Stoneman Douglas student who was shot five times and severely wounded, told reporters after the hearing that he accepted Cruz’s apology, but noted that it was not up to him to decide the confessed murderer’s fate.

“He made a decision to shoot the school,” Borges said. “I am not God to make the decision to kill him or not. That’s not my decision. My decision is to be a better person and to change the world for every kid. I don’t want this to happen to anybody again. It hurts. It hurts. It really hurts. So, I am just going to keep going. That’s it.”

Cruz’s attorneys announced his intention to plead guilty during a hearing last week.

Following the pleas Wednesday, former Broward State Attorney Mike Satz recounted the details of the murders. Cruz killed 14 students and three staff members on Valentine’s Day 2018 during a seven-minute rampage through a three-story building at Stoneman Douglas, investigators said. They said he shot victims in the hallways and in classrooms with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, sometimes returning to the wounded to kill them with additional shots. Cruz had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas a year earlier after a history of threatening, frightening, unusual and sometimes violent behavior that dated back to preschool.

After Satz finished, the judge had to compose herself for several seconds before she began speaking again, her voice breaking.

The shootings caused some Stoneman Douglas students to launch the March for Our Lives movement, which pushes for stronger gun restrictions nationally.

Since days after the shooting, Cruz’s attorneys had offered to have him plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, saying that would spare the community the emotional turmoil of reliving the attack at trial. But Satz rejected the offer, saying Cruz deserved a death sentence, and appointed himself lead prosecutor. Satz, 79, stepped down as state attorney in January after 44 years, but remains Cruz’s chief prosecutor.

His successor, Harold Pryor, is opposed to the death penalty but has said he will follow the law. Like Satz, he never accepted the defense offer — as an elected official, that would have been difficult, even in liberal Broward County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2 to 1.

By having Cruz plead guilty, his attorneys will be able to argue during the penalty hearing that he took responsibility for his actions.

As at any trial, prosecutors will present evidence of the shooting, including security video that reportedly shows many of the killings in graphic detail. They will also be allowed to show evidence that Cruz had long planned the attack and made threats through cellphone videos. There will be testimony from students and teachers who were in the building, including some who were wounded.

Prosecutors will also present testimony from the victims’ parents and spouses to demonstrate the toll the deaths have had on families and the community.

The defense will then present mitigating evidence that will likely include testimony about Cruz’s life, including his long history of mental and emotional instability, his father’s death when he was 5 and his mother’s death four months before the shootings, when he was 19.

To impose a death sentence, all 12 jurors must agree. If they do, Judge Scherer will make the final decision.

The post Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 2018 Parkland school massacre appeared first on World Israel News.

A sibling of one of the Parkland high school shooting victims wore a Kippah during a meeting with President Trump because he is “proud to be Jewish.”

By: World Israel News

Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was one of 17 mass shooting victims at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, participated in a roundtable discussion with President Donald Trump and other victims at the White House. Andrew was joined by his sons, Huck and Hunter.

Prior to the event on Wednesday, the three had a private meeting with Trump, during which Hunter wore a Kippah, a traditional Jewish head covering.

“I wore it there because I’m proud to be Jewish,” Hunter told Chabad.org.

“I wanted to wear my kippah in the highest office of the land,” he added, explaining that his “Jewish peers in this country need to be proud of being Jewish, and that’s how we can honor Meadow’s memory as a beautiful Jewish girl.”

In last week’s tragedy, the following five of the 17 victims killed by shooter Nikolas Cruz were Jews: Jamie Guttenberg, Alyssa Alhadeff, Alex Schachter, Meadow Pollack, and teacher Scott Beigel, who was lauded for putting himself in the line of fire to save his students. Since the shooting, Rabbi Avraham Friedman of Chabad of Coral Springs, a longtime friend of the Pollack family, has been a constant presence in their home, offering comfort and support and helping them to observe the Jewish rites of mourning.

“I thought of Rabbi Friedman as I walked into the Oval Office with my kippah,” says Hunter. “The tefillin, the learning, the Jewish stuff has been very comforting to me and my family.”

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Max Schachter reads a poem written by his son Alex at CNN’s town hall with students, parents, lawmakers and the NRA. Alex was one of the 17 victims in the Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

The post WATCH: Father of Florida shooting victim reads son’s emotional poem about life appeared first on World Israel News.

Chabad Rabbi Avraham Friedman talks to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about his work assisting the grief-stricken families in Parkland, Florida and how the victims’ families are coping in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy.

The post WATCH: Florida rabbi attends to shooting victims and their families appeared first on World Israel News.

In the aftermath of the recent Florida high school massacre, analyst Ben Shapiro says security should be the main priority. When he was a student, he recalls, a mass shooter drove by the Jewish high school he attended but there was armed security, so the shooter found another target.

The post WATCH: School security must be ‘radically escalated’ in the US appeared first on World Israel News.

The FBI is under attack for failing to act on tips that may have prevented the Florida high school massacre. 

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

The revelation that the FBI botched a potentially life-saving tip on the Florida school shooting suspect is a devastating blow to America’s top law enforcement agency.

The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a “desire to kill,” had access to guns and could be plotting an attack. But the agency said Friday that agents failed to investigate.

The FBI’s acknowledgment that it mishandled the tip prompted a sharp rebuke from its boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and a call from Florida’s Republican Gov. Rick Scott for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.

First it was revealed that the FBI failed to delve into a YouTube comment posted by a “Nikolas Cruz” that said, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” The FBI said it could not determine who made it.

Then on Friday, the bureau said it had failed to act on a tip that Cruz had a “desire to kill people,” posting disturbing social media posts and has access to a gun.

Nikolas Cruz, who on Wednesday shot and killed 17 high school students in the Florida high school he had attended, advocated racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic views, which he expressed on social media. He also displayed an obsession with violence and guns and cruelty to animals.

‘Tragic consequence’ of the FBI’s failure

Sessions called the massacre a “tragic consequence” of the FBI’s failure. He ordered a review of the Justice Department procedures. The House Judiciary and Oversight committees demanded Wray brief them on what went wrong.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl) said it was “inexcusable” that the FBI did not follow protocols and urged Congress to launch its own investigation. Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fl) promised to be in “close communication with the FBI so we can get to the bottom of this.”

Wray apologized in a rare statement, admitting the FBI’s missteps. But Scott, the governor, said that “isn’t going to cut it.”

“People must have confidence in the follow-through from law enforcement,” he said, calling for Wray to step down.

‘Somebody did not do their job’

In the Florida school shooting, “somebody made a mistake, somebody did not do their job,” said Jeffrey Ringel, a former FBI agent and Joint Terrorism Task force member who now works for the Soufan Group, a private security firm.

“The FBI will be criticized for a failing that they have basically owned up to,” he said. “It’s a learning lesson. Unfortunately, a very expensive learning lesson.”

President Donald Trump lashed out at the FBI Saturday night, saying the agency “missed all of the many signals” sent by the suspect in the Florida school shooting and arguing they are “spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.”

Trump said on Twitter: “This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign – there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!”

The post FBI concedes it failed to avert Florida school shooting appeared first on World Israel News.

Florida high school shooter espoused extreme racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views and openly expressed them on social media.   

By: World Israel News Staff

Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 high school students in Florida on Wednesday, advocated racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic views, which he expressed on social media. He also displayed an obsession with violence and guns.

CNN reported Saturday that Cruz’s hateful remarks were posted on a private Instagram group, named “Murica (American flag emoji) (eagle emoji) great.” He wrote that he hated, “jews, ni**ers, immigrants.”

Cruz talked about killing Mexicans, keeping black people in chains and cutting their necks.

His remarks are several of hundreds of racist messages, racist memes and racist videos posted in the group, CNN reported.

Cruz said he hated black people simply because they were black, and he hated Jews because he believed they wanted to destroy the world.

After one member expressed hatred for gay people, Cruz said, “Shoot them in the back of head.”

One member remarked about Cruz’s particular spitefulness, saying that although he hated black people too, unlike Cruz, he didn’t “to a point I wanna kill the (sic) like nick.”

In one anti-Semitic tirade, Cruz referenced his biological mother, saying, “My real mom was a Jew. I am glad I never met her,” CNN reported. Cruz was adopted by a couple as a baby.

Cruz expressed hatred for white women as well, specifically those in interracial relationships, whom he referred to as “traitors.”

At one point in the chat, he wrote, “I think I am going to kill people.” After a member told him not to say things like that, he said he was “just playing.”

In two instances, Cruz also discussed his killing of small animals. He posted a photo on his Instagram account of a disemboweled frog, saying he killed it because one had killed his dog. In the Instagram chat, he describes killing a number of birds with his gun.

“He seemed nice but also had some mental issues,” one group member told CNN. “All (I know) is that he likes guns and really hates liberals.”

Five of the 17 victims killed by Cruz were Jews, identified as  Jamie Guttenberg, Alyssa Alhadeff, Alex Schachter, Meadow Pollack, and teacher Scott Beigel, who was lauded for putting himself in the line of fire to save his students.

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As the funerals begin for the 17 victims of a massacre last week at a Florida high school, the FBI concedes that it failed to follow up on a tip last month that Nikolas Cruz was planning an attack.

The post WATCH: Funerals begin for Florida high school shooting victims appeared first on World Israel News.

Upon his departure for Munich Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on behalf of the entire people of Israel, expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the slain school children and teachers in the horrible massacre in Florida.

He then continued in Hebrew, saying: “I am leaving now for the most important security conference in the world – the Munich Security Conference. I will present proof of Iran’s involvement in the recent events in the north and I will reiterate our determination to defend ourselves by ourselves – without any restrictions – against any threat.”

Asked about Turkey’s relationship with Iran, Netanyahu said, “What is not new is Iran’s ties with Turkey as well as with the Palestinians. That is nothing new. What has changed is that Turkey has such close ties with Israel.”

Regarding the current police probe, the prime minister said, “My wife and I are thrilled – there’s no other word for it – by the support, the sympathy, and the warmth that so many Israeli citizens have shown us,” since the police recommended his indictment Tuesday evening.

He vowed to continue to serve the State of Israel “responsibly and with determination and from a deep sense of security, because I’m certain that in the end, the truth will win.”

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