Death penalty trial opens for 'cold, calculated, manipulative' Parkland school shooter

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Describing the man who confessed to the mass shooting in Parkland as "cold, calculated, manipulative and deadly," a Broward County prosecutor laid out in horrifying detail the six minutes and 22 seconds it took the gunman to murder 17 people and injure 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Three days before the massacre Feb. 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz issued a warning on a cellphone video about the violence he intended to unleash, lead prosecutor Michael Satz told jurors Monday during opening statements of the sentencing trial.

Jurors will decide whether Cruz, who pleaded guilty in October, will be executed or live the rest of his life in prison without a chance at parole.

“‘Hello, my name is Nik,’” Satz said, reciting Cruz's words. “‘I’m going to be the next school shooter of 2018. My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15 and some tracer rounds. It’s going to be a big event, and when you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am. You’re all going to die. Ah yeah, I can’t wait.’”

WHAT TO WATCH: Next phase of Parkland shooting trial begins: What to know before opening statements

Victims' families in court for Day 1 but pained by prosecutors' statements

Satz, Broward County's state attorney for 44 years before leaving the post last year, gave a step-by-step account of the attack, causing one relative of a victim to run out of the courtroom in tears while others flinched or held their heads in their hands. About 50 family members attended Monday's hearing.

Satz repeated all of the victims' names, ages, the number of times they were shot and whether they survived the shooting rampage.

"I'm going to speak to you about the unspeakable," Satz told the 12-person jury and 10 alternates.

Satz provided gut-wrenching specifics, including the final moments of Joaquin Oliver's life.

Oliver, 17, was shot in the leg as he tried to run away on the third floor of the building where the shootings took place. When he couldn't run, he attempted to hide in an alcove of a bathroom but was killed.

Peter Wang, who reportedly held a door open so other students could escape, was shot 13 times, Satz said.

At least two students and Athletic Director Chris Hixon were killed when the gunman returned to shoot them as they lay wounded.

"The murders, all 17, were heinous, atrocious and cruel," Satz said.

Prosecutors say shooter warned student: 'Something bad is about to happen'

The defense delayed its opening statement until the prosecution finishes arguing its case, which will probably take weeks. The trial is likely to last four months.

The gunman, 23, was 19 when he committed the murders. He kept his head down, scribbling on a notepad during most of Monday's court session.

Satz told jurors that the gunman arrived in an Uber at Stoneman Douglas, wearing a backpack with hundreds of ammunition rounds and a black case containing a semi-automatic rifle.

He assembled his weapon in a staircase, warning one student, "You better get out of here. Something bad is about to happen."

At 2:21:33 p.m., Satz said, the "massacre begins."

The attacker killed nine students and two staff members on the building's first floor, shooting some of the victims in the hallway and others by firing through classroom windows.

He made his way up to the third floor, where students were scrambling in a hallway after a fire alarm was set off by the percussion of the rifle rounds. He killed five students and one teacher on the third floor.

Satz said 139 rounds were fired, including 70 on the first floor and 61 on the third.

Students were reading 'Romeo and Juliet' as first shots fired at school

The jury will decide whether seven aggravating factors detailed by Satz – including the gunman's criminal history and the "heinous, atrocious and cruel" nature of the murders – outweigh mitigating factors, such as the defendant's history of mental illness and his upbringing.

After lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill declined to provide an opening statement, the prosecution began calling witnesses.

The first was Brittany Sinitch, a Stoneman Douglas teacher. She and her students were studying "Romeo and Juliet" during fourth period on the first floor of the freshman building.

“We were having so much fun,” Sinitch said. Then the gunfire began.

Danielle Gilbert, a student, recorded videos from inside a classroom that were played in court Monday.

"We were sitting ducks," Gilbert said.

On one of the videos, which could be seen by jurors but not the public, an injured student moaned and begged for help as gunshots went off.

"Shut it off," an unidentified family member shouted.

The shooting ended at 2:27:55, less than seven minutes after it began, Satz said. The suspect was arrested more than an hour later about 3 miles away from the school after stopping at a Subway sandwich shop to buy an Icee.

Contributing: Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post

Jorge Milian is a journalist covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jmilian@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @caneswatch. Help support our work, subscribe today.