A video of a crime scene where the accused Parkland school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, is seen attacking jail officer Sgt. Raymond Beltranat at the Broward County Jail is going viral.
The incident occurred on November 13, 2018, but the footage was presented to the court on July 14 as Cruz attended his first in-person hearing in the court. Cruz is facing charges of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.
The video was shown for the first time when prosecutors presented it during Cruz's first in-person appearance in the court. The in-person hearing was delayed due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. But when he was presented before the court, shacked and wearing an orange jump suit, Cruz sat quietly throughout the 30-minute court appearance.
The CCTV Footage
During the court proceeding, Defense attorney David Wheeler stated that the guard had had previously mistreated Cruz and that Cruz had reacted to the abuse. Countering this argument, prosecutor Maria Schneider asked for complete medical records of Cruz to determine if Beltran had really abused Cruz. But Wheeler told the court that the records were confidential. Elizabeth Sherer was the Circuit Judge on the occasion and is expected to give her verdict on July 16.
In the video, Cruz is seen walking in circles in the jail cafeteria. After some time he is seen speaking to the guard who is sitting in the corner of the cafeteria. The video does not have any audio, so it is not clear what was Cruz arguing about. But during the argument, Cruz is seen giving the officer the finger before running towards the guard and attacking him.
Cruz pins Beltran to the ground. The Guard's spectacles are thrown away as Cruz tries to punch the guard. However, Beltran takes charge and controls Cruz. At this point the video goes blank and returns with the footage of Cruz trying to hit the guard. But Beltran pulls out a stun gun, looking at which Cruz walks to the other side if the room and lays face-down on the ground.
Parkland Shooting Incident
The 22-year-old Cruz is facing a possible death sentence, if convicted. Cruz, former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, has been charged with 17 counts of murder in the first degree, and 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. Probe had revealed that another video obtained by cops had shown Cruz talking over the phone and telling someone that he will kill at least 20 people using an AR-15.
His defence has not denied the charges of mass killing. But they are trying to save Cruz from capital punishment. They even wrote to prosecutors requesting them not to seek death penalty for Cruz.
The horrific shooting incident had killed 17 people including seven 14-year-old students, two 15-year-old students, one 16-year-old students, two 17-year-old and one 18-year-old student, 35-year-old teacher Scott Beigel, 37-year-old assistant football coach Aaron Feis, and 49-year-old athletic director Christopher Hixon.
