Parkland shooting: Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 17 counts of murder, faces death penalty trial Published on October 20, 2021Politics Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing 17 people — 14 students and three staff members — at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., avoiding a trial but setting up a fight over his punishment for the 2018 attack. More