Florida prosecutors to seek death penalty for accused Parkland shooter

Florida prosecutors announced on Tuesday they will seek the death penalty for the accused Parkland school shooter, Nikolas Cruz. 

The State Attorney’s office listed seven “aggravating factors” that a jury could use to justify the capital punishment, according to The Sun Sentinel.

{mosads}Those factors include the “heinous, atrocious and cruel” nature of the crime, and the “cold, calculated and premeditated” way it was carried out, as well as Cruz’s prior criminal record. 

Cruz has admitted to the shooting, and has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. 

Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein originally offered for Cruz to give a guilty plea in exchange for a life in prison sentence. 

Seventeen people were killed and several others were injured after Cruz allegedly opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month. 

Police say Cruz carried out the attack with an AR-15 rifle that he had purchased legally from a dealer in Coral Springs, Fla., roughly a year earlier.

The shooting has reignited the debate over gun control in Florida and across the country.