Florida prosecutor calls for Parkland school shooter to receive death penalty

A prosecutor on Monday urged jurors to sentence to death the gunman who killed 17 people in a mass shooting at a Florida high school in 2018.

Nikolas Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to the premeditated murder of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Fort Lauderdale.

Prosecutor Michael Satz told Broward County jurors on the first day of the penalty phase of the trial that Cruz committed "goal-directed planned, systematic murder -- mass murder -- of 14 students, an athletic director, a teacher and a coach."

Cruz, who was a 19-year-old expelled student at the time of the massacre, will be sentenced to life in prison without parole if any of the 12 jurors objects to the death penalty. Their decision could take several months.

Around three dozen family members of the victims were present in court. Some shook their heads or wept as Satz described the massacre, naming each of the 17 people who died and another 17 injured in the attack.

Dressed in a gray-and-black sweater and wearing a black mask, Cruz slumped in his seat, looking down, for much of Satz's statement. He appeared to write several notes and pass them to his lawyer.

Cruz in his guilty plea said he was "very sorry" and asked to be given a chance to help others. Satz said aggravating factors in the case including premeditation outweighed arguments for leniency including Cruz's history of mental health problems.

Referring to Cruz primarily as "the defendant" rather than by name, Satz said Cruz had planned to be a school shooter long before the attack. Jurors will see video of the crime taken by cameras at the school, Satz said.

Teacher Brittany Sinitch, called as the prosecution's first witness, described calling the 911 emergency number from her classroom. Her students were writing Valentine's letters as characters from "Romeo and Juliet" as the attack began on the afternoon of Feb. 14, 2018.

"Almost instantly, I called 911. They couldn't hear me over the sound of the gunshots; it was so loud," she said.

Lawyers for Cruz were expected to make their opening arguments later in the proceedings.

U.S. gun violence has gotten renewed attention following recent mass shootings including one at an Independence Day parade outside Chicago that killed seven people, and another in May at a school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

President Joe Biden in June signed the first major federal gun reform in three decades, which he has celebrated as a rare bipartisan agreement.