Suspected Florida High School Shooter's Adoptive Parent Was A Former Military Intelligence Analy
Image Credit: Susan Stocker
Nikolas Cruz, the suspected Parkland high school shooter who killed 17 people and injured countless others, was taken in by James and Kimberly Snead after his OTHER adoptive parents passed away.
Interestingly enough, James Snead (48) was reported to be a "decorated army veteran and military intelligence analyst who served stints in the Middle East between 1988 and 1996" per the SunSentinel. His wife Kimberly (49), is a "neonatal intensive care nurse who cares for premature and ill babies."
When Cruz moved in, he was made aware there would be strict rules in their home.
The SunSentinel reports:
“I told him there’d be rules and he followed every rule to the T,” James said.
The couple both grew up around guns and are comfortable with them, but they insist on gun safety.
They made Cruz buy a locking gun safe to put in his room the day he moved in. Cruz had a handful of guns, including the AR-15 and two other rifles that Snead said would be considered assault rifles. Cruz, a hunter, also had knives, BB guns and pellet guns.
Snead thought he had the only key to the cabinet but has figured out Cruz must have kept a key for himself. The family kept their own rifles, bought after a burglary a couple of years ago, in a separate locked cabinet.
They told Cruz he needed to ask permission to take out the guns. He had asked only twice since November. They said “yes” once and “no” once.
According to the Sneads, Cruz wanted to become an Army infantryman and got excited when a recruiter visited his school recently.
He was also depressed over not having a girlfriend and "seemed lonely."
Both James and Kimberly "saw no signs of animal cruelty" as they are animal lovers themselves, owning two dogs and six cats. They said "he'd have been kicked out if he was mean to their animals." Cruz reportedly loved their pets.
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