FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Sitting in an Uber on his way to carrying out his massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Parkland school shooter was busy on his phone looking up the music video for “Pumped Up Kicks,” a song about a gunman targeting unarmed victims, a Broward Sheriff’s detective testified Monday.
It was among scores of searches on his phone leading up to the 2018 mass shooting, including a video called “Good songs to play while killing people,” and “How long does it take for a cop to show up at a school shooting?” in a Google search two days before massacre.
On top of his web searches, the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was texting back and forth with two people, including a girl he liked who was rejecting his advances.
As the families of the Parkland victims wiped away tears, the penalty phase trial of the gunman picked up Monday where it left off last week, with graphic testimony about the damage done by the weapon he used to stalk the hallways of the high school.
Former Associate Broward Medical Examiner Terrill L. Tops testified about the injuries sustained by Luke Hoyer, Aaron Feis and Joaquin Oliver, whose bodies were ripped apart by bullets fired from the AR-15-style rifle wielded by confessed gunman Nikolas Cruz.
Hoyer, one of the first victims, was in the first-floor hallway when the shooting started.
Hoyer’s parents, Tom and Gena Hoyer, wept and squeezed each other’s hands in the gallery as Tops testified how the first bullet was enough to kill their son, who was shot twice. The first bullet had two entry points, first in his jaw, then in his neck. Blood filled his lungs “drowning” them, Tops said. The second bullet fractured part of his pelvis.
Tops then covered the death of Feis, the football coach who raced into the school to find the shooter only to be shot to death before he had a chance. A bullet fractured ribs, and one “was obliterated,” Tops said. He also used the word “obliterated” to describe part of his liver and pancreas.
Oliver, who had “multiple” gun shot wounds, was next, including injuries to his palm and leg that left “large gaping” holes. Another injury penetrated his head, in the area over his left ear.
Surveillance video showed that Oliver, defenseless outside a third-floor bathroom, was shot by Cruz at close range. The testimony, accompanied by autopsy photos, depicted Oliver’s wounds in such devastating detail (”like a cherry bomb inside one’s head”) that when Tops was finished, Oliver’s sobbing mother was escorted from the courtroom by those sitting with her, including her daughter.
Broward Sheriff’s Detective Ron Faircloth then took the stand to testify more about the defendant’s web search history. It’s not clear when prosecutors are planning to introduce the incriminating videos Cruz recorded that outlined his plans before the shooting. He testified that a PDF file of the school’s bell schedule was downloaded onto Cruz’s cellphone the morning of Feb. 2, which is 12 days before the massacre.
Graphic, disturbing testimony has been a staple of the trial, which opened July 18. Jurors have been told about how the victims spent their last moments — confused, frightened and desperate to escape. They have been told in excruciating detail about how the victims died.
Later Monday, the jury will hear about how the victims lived, with their family members prepared to take the stand to talk about their losses.
Prosecutors are asking the jury to sentence Cruz to death for the 17 murders he committed at Stoneman Douglas. Cruz pleaded guilty to the murders last October, along with 17 counts of attempted murder. Defense lawyers are seeking a sentence of life in prison.
Under Florida law, the jury’s recommendation of death must be unanimous.
The victim impact statements are not supposed to be considered as aggravating factors, but family members of victims have a legal right to address a judge or jury considering how to punish a defendant.
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