Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz addresses court after guilty plea: 'I love you'

Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty to murder on Wednesday in the 2018 high school massacre in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead.

"I am very sorry for what I did and I have to live with it every day. And if I were to get a second chance, I would do everything in my power to try to help others," Cruz said. "I am doing this for you and I do not care if you do not believe me, and I love you, and I know you don’t believe me but I have to live with this every day and it brings me nightmares and I can’t live with myself sometimes, but I try to push through because I know that’s what you would want me to do." Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz enters the courtroom before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021,  at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018,  Cruz's lawyers said Friday that he plans to plead guilty to the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school.  ((Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)) Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table with defense attorney David Wheeler before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021,  at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018,  Cruz's lawyers said Friday that he plans to plead guilty to the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school.  ((Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)) Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table with defense attorney David Wheeler before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021,  at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018,  Cruz's lawyers said Friday that he plans to plead guilty to the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school.  ((Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)) Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021,  at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018,  Cruz's lawyers said Friday that he plans to plead guilty to the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school.  ((Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)) Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table with his attorneys, Gabe Ermine, left, and David Wheeler before pleading guilty, Friday, Oct. 15, 2021,  at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018,  Cruz's lawyers said Friday that he plans to plead guilty to the 2018 massacre at a Parkland high school.  ((Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool))

Cruz, 23, entered his plea in a courtroom attended by a dozen relatives of victims after answering a long list of questions from Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer aimed at confirming his mental competency. He was charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder for those wounded in the Feb. 14, 2018, attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, located just outside Fort Lauderdale.