Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz customized high-powered rifle days before massacre: New details 

You can literarily see the pain in this guys face. This is a man that took pride in his job, just for a monster to ruin it for him.

From the Uber driver to the firearm dealer, I’d hate to be any of them. They did nothing wrong by doing their jobs but they have to live with the fact that their lives intertwined with that of a mass shooter.

Imagine selling someone a car and losing your business because they chose to drive drunk. Sickening. I hope he gets taken care of. Paving is hard work.

Poor man, you can see how awful and tense he feels. He’s having to face the families and I surely hope no one blames him individually. You never know who that person is or what their purposes are when purchasing a firearm.

If it wasn’t Michael’s business it would have been any other gun store. I hope you find peace sir. ❤️

That’s very unfortunate for Michael, I met him one time at his store on wiles road and he is a very stand up guy very professional. Sucks that piece or human garbage had to bring this man into this case.

You can see in his eyes that he still feels horribly guilty and partially responsible for this tragedy. Poor guy, I hope he can move past this and come to terms with the fact that it wasn't his fault.

That’s like handing someone a pencil so they can write with it, but then they write threats to someone. And then they blame you. Please, I hope no one starts blaming all of this on him.

Nicolas should be forced to pay attention at every moment. He should not be able to look down for these extended periods of time, cover his ears or act in avoidant manner. He must be forced to look up and be engaged and is on trial for this to be moral and ethical. He makes me sick. He’s a sociopath but I do not believe that he hears voices or whatever else he’s claiming. He fully knew what he was doing

A man losing his income for his life and own family Over this is so sad. I feel just as bad for him as anyone else. The guilt he lives w is unimaginable and it’s all over his face, showing he’s a good person :/

I feel so bad for this man, you can tell he feels guilty even though it’s not his fault

I don’t blame the store owner. He sold the weapon legally. Therefore he’s not at fault.

I feel bad for him not knowing that he sold a gun to someone that used it in such an evil and brutal way.

I hope this man has people around him telling him this is not his fault he done everything legit he was doing his job exactly how it should be done, its the people that make the laws and don't update them that should feel guilty

Michael, you’re a well deserving human!!! You are NOT at fault, never will be!! You were doing your job, just like ANYONE else would have been! You are smart and know your truth, god bless you!!! Love from New Zealand x 😩❤️

He bought it in February 2017, not February 2018 (not “days before massacre”). He bought it at the minimum age 18. He was 19 when he did this crime in 2018. The caption of this video should be edited.

Poor man looked so sad and uncomfortable with the murder weapon plonked in his face 😔 he didn’t want to look at it .

My heart truly goes out to him. He had no idea of the evil that customer had inside of him that day. He did what he was supposed to do, and no one can fault him for that. You can see the hurt and sadness in his eyes. You can tell this is extremely uncomfortable for him, but what speaks volumes is he showed up and testified. I hope he finds peace and does not beat himself up over something he had no knowledge of or control of long term. He was just doing his job and he’s had to suffer after all of this as well. 🥺😔

Imagine being that close to the rifle that was held by a mass shooter responsible for taking 17 lives. I feel bad for this guy. He looks so uncomfortable.

This man must feel terrible for selling this gun to Cruz knowing now what Cruz did with it. Very hard to check on domestic violence and drug use. These are often not found in any background check.

A gun is only as good or as bad as the man behind it.

I have to agree with most comments here on the gun seller, Michael, if I got his name right, is not at fault. I too agree that he did what has to be done to filter out those who shouldn't be allowed to own a firearm. There's no way he can predict the future nor can control anyone before and after someone walks into his store. Same for the lady who drove Nikolas to the school. These people could've been any of us whether be you walking past him on the sidewalk or had once invited him over to your home to eat with your family. The fault falls on Nikolas and him alone.

This is a good person you can tell he's traumatized by what happened, he had no control over it. I hope people don't blame him.

It must have been really hard to testify about doing something that somehow facilitated a mass killing in front of the families of the victims. I hope this man went or is going to therapy.

It must be horrifying for families to see the gun that killed their children 😥

You can't blame the store or person that sold the weapon. Please don't vilify law abiding gun owners or in this case the shop owner.

They didn't need to call this guy to the stand just to drag his name through the mud and ruin his livelihood. Where he purchased the gun is irrelevant so long as it was purchased legally (as it was).

That poor man. I hope he finds peace in his heart.

The Defense attorney was trying to grasp on to something to put the blame on the gun seller but he could not.

Just a waste of time. The dude just handed in the form. Bring in the guys that cleared the form itself if you're going to corner this guy.

There isn't a single gun capable of killing a single person without a shooter! Looking to blame the gun in any shooting is like blaming the car when a drunk kills a family.

The lack of knowledge and laws of firearms on this thread is ridiculous. Please don't comment if you don't have a clue. Thank you.

Nikolas elaborately customizes his rifle, has a lengthy rational conversation with the Uber driver who brought him to the school, after the shooting he goes to fast food places and talks clamly with friends, talks about going to college to another student while in line waiting to exit the school, etc, etc, -this does not sound like a guy who is struggling too badly with voices and demons in his head.

This is just heartbreak on top of heartbreak with this case. His face says everything he’s feeling. The pain and chaos that pos caused is mind boggling. It’s literally incomprehensible what he did

No one absolutely NO ONE would do anything different then this gun shop owner. BUT, of course you have those who think they would have done different. No you wouldn't. Not one person on this planet would have any idea what was in that guys mind at the time. Unless you have a Heavenly Messenger appear and tell you this sale shouldn't go through, it's going to be sold. I feel bad this guy lost his business because people feel differently, but people judged him and he lost it all. I guess that's ok because it wasn't you. 😐

Not sure why people think or even congress thinks gun shops just don’t do background checks before people buy guns…the 4473 is a ATF federal form that requires a background check number to verify eligibility for purchasing a firearm

Where did this kid even get the money to buy a rifle?? The determination that this psychopath had is beyond me. He was DETERMINED to kill people.

This poor man... If you end up reading this somehow please dont guilt yourself theres no way you or anyone else who didn't know him personally could of known the type of person he is

I don't understand why Cruz has so many lawyers. Why go through all of this when Cruz pleaded guilty??

I could feel his sadness at 15:50 when he had to show what mods were added

I can see the pain in this man, may God comforts him.

It’s sad how they even had to bring this guy into the case

I feel for this man. Linked to a horrible crime when he just was doing his job.

I feel so bad for him. He must feel terrible to have no idea what that weapon was going to do.

First of all, an AR15 is not a high powered rifle. A high powered rifle is a rifle that uses a 308winchester round. The AR15 is an intermediate sized cartridge. Having said that, Nikolas Cruz should be been red flagged as a prohibited person by one of the responding agencies dealing with his mental health issues. So many failures by so many and no one is taking responsibility.

He’s not responsible in anyway for this shooting. The only person who bares ANY responsibility is Nicholas Cruz.

Guy deserves to suffer for what he did. But to the real point calling it a high powered customized rifle. Its one of the cheapest AR's you can buy and the foregrip is the only attachment on that gun that did any help. You people are sick for titling this the way you did, shows your lack of gun knowledge. Also this guy testifying what came on the gun also has no clue he forgot to leave out the fact the handguard doesn't come on it.

If you sell a car, and that person drives and kills someone, is it the fault of the person who sold it? If you sell a knife and the person uses it for murder, is it the fault of the person who sold it? No. This man is not the one to blame.

my heart breaks for the victims; I will never understand what would possess someone to do something like this

It’s horrible to see how this man became a victim also. When the people that are supposed to administer the system of law by carrying out background checks somewhere down the line mess up, not looking into everything properly, or not administrating the fact that he shouldn’t be able to get a firearm at the time of certain events that would prohibit him from getting a firearm, at some point you have to conclude that when people that administer the system don’t at all time do that, you really have no system at all.

The gun was bought a year before the shooting, not days before, the title is wrong

We will never have end to this tragedy Until our family and relatives intervene. Please watch your kids, daughters and sons and any family member if they are acting weird

I just can’t fathom for any amount of money a lawyer would want to defend such a horrific criminal. Blows my mind.

Can we all just agree that this man is not guilty of anything he just sold a firearm to the wrong person horrible person

Selling a kid a weapon like that just beggars belief

.223 is actually a small caliber. It's essentially just a long 22

As tedious as this may be it is a very valuable resource for learning how to fill out the form ahead of time. This is an information-rich vein of knowledge. And Thank You to LiveNow!!!

THIS is why trials take months and years to complete. This was the most stretched out waste of time by an attorney that I've ever seen......smdh

That man clearly doesn’t want to touch that gun. It’s obvious since he changed careers. I get why the prosecutor put it in front of him but for so many reasons, put on some fckn gloves.

I can’t imagine the guilt he feels 😕

He is in no way responsible for the choices that kid made. Any attempts to blame him just show your idiocy

Even though he followed the law, did what he was supposed to do, and was given the go-ahead by government agencies that are required to monitor these transaction; you can tell he has remorse over having sold a weapon that did such great harm. I hope people understand that he is not someone to be blamed.

Kinda messed up they put the murder weapon right in front of the poor guy a picture or slideshow couldn’t suffice?

Maybe they should implement a video statement from each customer re reason for purchase of weapon

You lost me at "customized high power". It's a cheap 5.56 M&P. LMAO

I carry one in my two deployments, is sad to see a negligent use of that weapon to do harm to innocent people

What’s with the stupid fixation on marijuana? Smoking weed doesn’t make you want to go out and shoot people; in fact it’s quite the opposite.

Former gun shop employee. You do not need to input social for the background check as age, DOB, DL#, city of birth, etc is plenty of info to find the exact person in the federal database. Having a social may help your background check come back faster though.

"puts fore grip on" "so as you can see this weapon has been customized to be even more deadly"

This man has probably gone through his conversation with him a million times to see if he missed anything. I can't imagine how much guilt he feels, whether anyone thinks he should or not.

SO a background check does not include the person giving their social security number? How is that a background check? Seems to me this form is working on people being truthful, and we all know you can't treat people like that. People will lie to get what they want.

Hard to hear my heart wants to burst for the family members God bless

"high powered rifle". That's why nobody cares what the media says anymore.

He looks like his conscious is eating him alive... It's not ur fault my brudda... Prayers 2 u and all the victims and their families🙏🏾

Am I missing something or didnt he buy that gun underage? This happened in 2017-2018 he was still in highschool

The form said he bought the gun 2-11-17 right? The shooting was 2-14-18… so the title is a year off. It wasn’t days before. He had this freaking gun for a whole year to practice with first!

He looks so sullen..like he’s lost sleep over this..I feel so bad and hope he’s okay

The look on his face sitting in front of that rifle, he feels so guilty I want to hug him and tell him it's not on him.

What do the attachments have to do with anything? High powered??? It's a little bigger than an .22

Imagine going back to Nissan and bringing the salesman to court because your kid got ran over by an Altima

They need to hire a sound technician. That awful ringing after every word has to be driving the jury out of there minds.

Customized? A sling is basic on pretty much every gun. You’ll find more vertical grips or slanted grips on ar’s than not. And bipods are just meant for stabilizing when shooting from a bench or sitting down. That’s a pretty loaded statement. I was expecting an upgraded trigger, muzzle devices, etc.

Is it just me or does Cruz’s handwriting also look crazy?

That's not a high-powered rifle. It's just a rifle.

Imagine showing the murder weapon in front of family members.

I hope none of the affected families don't resent this store and the people who work there. I can only think this incident caused these families to abhore firearms. The stark reality is the very thing that took their children's lives is the only thing that could have prevented the loss in the first place. This is why gun-free zones are unsafe. A person that wants will go to great lengths to accomplish their goals no matter what it is. And a gun-free country will only lead to law abiding civilians defenseless against criminals. Just like criminals aquire contraband like drugs, human trafficking, and everything else that's illegal. Guns are here to stay whether legal or not, the only difference is who's able to readily use them.

Hey Fox, that is NOT customized. It's accessorized. FJB

He probably feels guilty but if he didn’t sold the gun to him, someone else would’ve.

You can tell the gun is in his nightmares and it's gut wretching that he probably feels the guilt and has to also suffer, along with all the families. Kids need guidance more than ever these days.

Thats not customized. Sling and a vertical grip and bipod are add-ons for sure, and i guess you can say that is customization. But to me customized can be a fitted scope, tactical optics, some sort of paint scheme , barrel changes or flash suppressor or silencer. this is a high velocity low caliber rifle system equivalent to a 22 bullet from a handgun elongated for more powder charge and distance shots. Its not an assault rifle its a rifle PERIOD. I owned 3 of those before and not one was ever used to harm anyone. few deer and some paper may argue that , but whatever. This man sold a weapon too a person who passed the background check who shouldn't have. Thats state and database faults . He shouldn't have ever gotten his hands on a potato gun let alone this rifle. Sadly cannot disqualify someone cause they look like a loser which he always has . This person is on trial cause of what was in his heart and mind not what was in his hands.

Incorrect this “was not” a high power firearm so please get the facts correct.

That’s…. That’s not a high powered rifle…

He seems like a nice man. I hope he’s doing okay. It has to be hard to deal with what happened. It really isn’t his fault. Edit: I was just making a statement on how I feel bad for this man having to be tied into this case. And even though it isn’t his fault, most people would feel some guilt anyway. It was not an invitation for people to argue about how they view him. He is just a man who was doing his job, he is not at fault for what cruz did. Stop pointing blame at anyone but Cruz. Cruz is the one who decided to shoot up this school, the person who sold him the weapon did everything legal and did not know he would do this.

I can only imagine what is going through this gun dealer's mind I can see it in his expression and I feel for him I really do. But this gun dealer should not have any liability weighed against him for he did nothing wrong he followed procedure he followed the letter of the law and he even check for any concerns or red flags as any responsible gun dealer would. The culprit involved in this act of tragedy already admitted doing it and that's where it should be put at the foot of the Criminal. This gun dealer should be absolved of any wrongdoing and should continue doing whatever it is he wants to do whether it be sell firearms or do something else it's entirely his choice but leave him alone. If anything I would focus on the criminal himself how did he get the money to buy the firearm who gave him the money how did he acquire the money did the parents know anything that would have been out of the ordinary? Did the parents live in denial? These are the questions that need to be addressed

It really sucks for this guy sold that gun to this monster not knowing he was a monster. I’m still sick of this misinformation in the video title. A standard AR15, including the on he used, fired a necked up 22 caliber bullet. It is illegal to hunt with it in some states because its considered too weak to take down game.

The same carnage could be achieved with a simple semi auto hunting rifle. The AR15 is just a semi automatic rifle like most hunting rifles, it just looks exactly like the military M4A1 which is FULLY automatic but is only single shot. Ammo used for hunting are way larger and capable of much more destruction. The AR15 is not high powered

Most pointless string of questions in court history

It's unfortunate to the owner but I'm sure some firearms came back from crimes. It's just the nature of things but you can only do so much before you have to say you can't really know what sort of customer is coming in that door.

This guy was just doing his job. It's the fact that someone's evil intent caused such a horrible act, that this poor guy now has to live the way he does.

We need to pray for them all of these people involved this must be awful like a open wound and pouring salt having to talk about it day after day