A Florida sheriff says the suspect in a school shooting that killed 17 people stopped at fast food restaurants after the attack.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news conference this morning that Nikolas Cruz tried to mix in with a group of students fleeing the school.
The sheriff says he then headed to a Wal-Mart and bought a drink at a Subway restaurant before walking to a McDonald's.
Israel says Cruz was confronted by a police officer and taken into custody about 40 minutes after leaving the McDonald's.
Earlier today he appeared in a Miami Court, hours after reportedly admitting to the FBI, that he was indeed responsible for the 17 deaths and others injured.
According to a report from the Broward County Sheriff's Office, he told interrogating officers that he "began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds" on Wednesday afternoon.
The report adds that Cruz told officers he "brought additional loaded magazines to the school campus and kept them hidden in a backpack until he got on campus to begin his assault."
Cruz told investigators that as students began to flee, he decided to discard his AR-15 rifle and a vest he was wearing so he could blend in with the crowd. Police recovered the rifle and the vest.
The police report adds that Cruz purchased the rifle in February 2017, but does not say where it was purchased.
He'd earlier caught an Uber to the school, before the massacre.
An attorney for the 19-year-old said her client was sad and remorseful.
Public defender Melisa McNeill told reporters today that Cruz was fully aware of what's going on but he's also just a "broken human being."
McNeill spoke after a judge ordered Cruz held without bond.
She had her arm around Cruz during the brief hearing.
She became emotional while speaking to reporters, saying she's fully aware of the impact the shooting has had on the community.
Cruz is accused of opening fire yesterday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
He is facing 17 counts of pre-meditated murder.
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