Suspected Parkland Florida High School Shooter Tied To White Supremacist Group

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Associated Press reported that the gunman in the school shooting in Florida had ties to a white supremacist group based on interviews with its leader, but the leader appears to have been lying, according to the Associated Press.

The shooting, which took place Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, left at least 17 people dead. The suspected shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 19, was arrested an hour after the attack and on Thursday was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Cruz was reported to have been involved with the Republic of Florida, a white supremacist and militia group. The ADL spoke with the group's leader, Jordan Jereb, who told the non-profit that Cruz had participated in a Republic of Florida paramilitary training exercise in Tallahassee. Jereb, has walked that statement back and law enforcement officials have said they have found no connection between Cruz and the group.

The group bills itself as a “white civil rights organization” that is “fighting for white identitarian politics.” The group wishes to create a white ethnostate.

“He probably used that training to do what he did yesterday. Nobody I know told him to do that, he just freaked out,” Jereb told the Daily Beast about the incident.

The Republic of Florida didn’t respond to International Business Times request for comment.

Cruz allegedly used an AR-15 in the shooting and a local sheriff said that he had “countless magazines” for the rifle. Police said that Cruz legally purchased the weapon he allegedly used in the shooting.

Cruz was suspended from the school for disciplinary reasons, according to officials. Classmates describe Cruz as an outsider who typically had guns on him and showed a penchant for far-right politics.

This article has been updated with new reporting.