Home News Accused Florida gunman to appear in court as gun debate rages

Accused Florida gunman to appear in court as gun debate rages

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Nikolas Cruz, facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appears in court for a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. February 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Stocker/Pool

The Florida teenager accused of carrying out the deadliest mass shooting at a high school in U.S. history will appear in court on Tuesday as a long-simmering national debate rages on between proponents of gun rights and advocates of firearms controls.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, is expected to be in a Broward County criminal court for a hearing on obtaining evidence from him, almost two weeks after 17 people were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, an affluent suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

The 14 students and three adult educators killed were shot with a semiautomatic AR-15-style assault weapon, which authorities say was purchased legally last year by the accused gunman, Cruz, when he was 18 years old.

The shooting has rattled long-drawn political lines on gun rights in the United States, where Republican officials have often opposed efforts by gun control advocates to tighten gun ownership laws, partly out of concern about retribution by the powerful National Rifle Association.

U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican who backed gun rights during and since his 2016 presidential campaign, has been under pressure to show he is responding without alienating Republicans who oppose firearms restrictions.

[vc_btn title=”Continue reading” style=”outline” color=”black” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2Fus-usa-guns%2Faccused-florida-gunman-to-appear-in-court-as-gun-debate-rages-idUSKCN1GB0K8||target:%20_blank|”][vc_message message_box_style=”outline” message_box_color=”black”]Reuters, excerpt posted on  SouthFloridaReporter.com, Feb. 27, 2018[/vc_message]