Parkland shooting gunman Nikolas Cruz sentenced to life in prison

'You are pure evil,' parent of a victim says

Inez Hixon, a relative of one of the victims, wipes away tears as she leaves the podium after giving her victim impact statement. AP

Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 pupils and staff with a semi-automatic rifle at a Florida high school, was formally sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

A jury voted last month to spare Cruz, 24, from the death penalty, instead choosing life in prison without possibility of parole for one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history.

Grieving relatives of the 17 pupils and teachers killed in the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, confronted the gunman, Nikolas Cruz, with tearful, angry words at his sentencing hearing.

“You are pure evil,” Anne Ramsay, the mother of murdered Helena Ramsay, 17, told Cruz.

He pleaded guilty last year to premeditated murder.

Cruz listened to the victim impact statements in the courtroom, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, large spectacles and a Covid-19 mask.

Inez Hixon called Cruz a “domestic terrorist” for killing her father-in-law, school athletics director Chris Hixon, two other staff members and 14 pupils with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 50 kilometres north of the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.

“I wish no peace for you,” Ms Hixon said in an emotional testimony. “I wish nothing but pain. And I hope that every breath you take, you remember that's a breath that you stole.”

Students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School evacuate the school following a shooting. WPLG-TV via AP

Students react following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Miami on February 14, 2018. A gunman opened fire at the Florida high school, an incident that officials said caused "numerous fatalities" and left terrified students huddled in their classrooms, texting friends and family for help. The Broward County Sheriff's Office said a suspect was in custody. / AFP PHOTO / Michele Eve Sandberg

A law enforcement officer rushes toward Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting at the school in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Family member embrace following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A law enforcement officer directs traffic outside the school following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Students are evacuated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 14, 2018 in a still image from video. WSVN.com via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO ACCESS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MEDIA.

Anxious family members wait for information on students, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building. Police were warning that the shooter was still at large even as ambulances converged on the scene and emergency workers appeared to be treating those possibly wounded. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A law enforcement officer talks with students, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building. Police were warning that the shooter was still at large even as ambulances converged on the scene and emergency workers appeared to be treating those possibly wounded. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Police officers ride in the back of a pick up truck as they tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Rescue workers prepare to transport a victim on a stretcher near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 14, 2018 in this still image taken from a video. WSVN.com via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO ACCESS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MEDIA.

A woman consoles another as parents wait for news regarding a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. A shooter opened fire at the Florida high school Wednesday, killing people, sending students running out into the streets and SWAT team members swarming in before authorities took the shooter into custody. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)

In this frame grab from video provided by WPLG-TV, emergency personnel wheel an injured person from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., following a shooting there on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (WPLG-TV via AP)

A man placed in handcuffs is led by police near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 14, 2018 in a still image from video. WSVN.com via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO ACCESS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MEDIA.

Cruz was 19 at the time of his attack and had been expelled from the school.

Some of the survivors organised a youth-led movement for tighter gun regulations in the US, which has the highest rate of private gun ownership in the world and where mass shootings have become common.

Many family members who sat through the three-month penalty trial said they were dismayed by the jury's decision to recommend life in prison without possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed in the shooting, said on Twitter that he would not speak during the hearing.

“Because I have decided that it simply won’t change reality or the way I feel,” Mr Guttenberg wrote.

“The reality is that I will still visit Jaime at the cemetery and the monster's fate will not change. It has already been decided.”

Reuters contributed to this report