While Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz awaits trial for killing 17 people in February, he’s now facing three new felony charges for allegedly attacking a prison guard on Tuesday.
According to CNN, Cruz attacked a Broward Sheriff’s Office detention deputy at the BSO Main Jail in Ft. Lauderdale. Per the police report, Sgt. Beltran told Cruz not to drag his feet. Cruz allegedly then flipped off Beltran before rushing to the guard and hitting him in the face.
The two broke out into a fight, and Beltran claims Cruz punched him several times in the face and grabbed his stun gun or “conductive electronic weapon.” Eventually, the guard was able to subdue Cruz, retrieve his weapon, and take him back into custody.
The new felony charges include aggravated assault on an officer, battery, and use of an electric or chemical weapon against a law enforcement officer.
The 20-year-old is still waiting to be judged for the shooting at Marjory Douglas High School on Feb. 14. He’s been in jail since the shooting took place and confessed to being the gunman, though a judge still entered a non-guilty plea.
Cruz previously claimed a “demon” is the reason he carried out the shooting. "He is suffering from significant mental illness and significant trauma and he has some very difficult decisions to make shortly, and we're going to assist him with those decisions," public defender Gordon Weekes said, per CNN.
If he’s found guilty of the 17 murder and 17 attempted murder charges, he will face the death penalty.
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