The teenage gunman who slaughtered 17 students and teachers at a Parkland, Fla. high school told police voices in his head ordered him to do it, ABC News reports.
The network quoted “law enforcement sources” as saying suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, claimed the “demon” voices gave him specific instructions on how to carry out Wednesday’s carnage.
There were no further details about the "voices."
There have been multiple reports that Cruz, who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, suffered from depression and had been in therapy.
Broward County Mayor Beam Furr told CNN Cruz had a history of mental issues.
"He had been undergoing some treatment," Furr told CNN. "We can't go into detail on that. I don't know if he was exactly on law enforcement's radar, but it wasn't like there wasn't concern for him. He had not been back to the clinic for over a year, so there's been a time where he was receiving treatment and then stopped."
Cruz attended the high school from Jan. 13, 2016, to Feb. 8, 2017, according to school records obtained by ABC Miami affiliate WPLG. School officials said privacy laws won’t allow them to talk about Cruz's school record.
Police said Cruz confessed to the murders, which he carried out with a legally purchased AR-15 assault rifle.
One of Cruz’s lawyers told reporters Cruz was "a broken human being … who fell through every single crack."
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