Parkland Couple ‘Forced’ To Issue Apology Over Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting

On Tuesday, James and Kimberly Snead released a letter apologizing for taking in Nikolas Cruz, the man accused of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Though according to a family member of one of the victims, the couple was "forced" to do so.

At the age of 19 years old, Cruz, a former student, walked on to the campus armed with an AR-15 rifle. He then entered the freshman building where he killed 14 students, a coach, a teacher, and an athletic director.

Andrew Pollack, the father of one of the deceased, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the couple did not want to issue a public apology to the families of the victims.

“They didn’t want to accept accountability, and we forced it on them. For us, that’s why we’re here. We want accountability,” Pollack said.

The shooting occurred after the Sneads were warned by Kathy Blaine, the cousin of Cruz’s mother, that the young man “was violent, dangerous, infatuated with guns and knives, untrustworthy and threatened to kill people on Instagram.”

The couple issued the letter about their feelings of remorse after allowing Cruz to live in their home and store weapons as part of their settlement agreement in several civil lawsuits.

In the letter, the Sneads stated they “will forever regret” their decision to allow Cruz to stay in their home.

“We thought we could handle this troubled young man, unfortunately, we were wrong. We were particularly wrong to allow him to store his firearms in our house, including the AR-15 used in this tragedy,” the statement read.

“We did so believing we were helping a troubled young man who needed help. We are profoundly sorry for the actions and inactions which may have contributed to Nikolas Cruz's ability to carry out the murders on Feb. 14, 2018.”

As part of the settlement, the couple must pay $1 to the victims’ families and are prohibited from discussing or profiting from the story.