Nikolas Cruz
Nikolas Cruz sits next to his attorneys appointed by the Broward Public Defender’s Office as a judge determines if he can afford his own lawyer, in Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 11, 2018. Reuters/Taimy Alvarez

Disturbing videos were released Wednesday of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz describing his plans of the bloodshed to become famous. The cell phone videos were recorded before the massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people and injured 17 others Feb. 14.

“My name is Nik and I’m going to be the next school shooter of 2018,” Cruz says calmly in one of the undated videos, released by the Broward State Attorney’s Office. “My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15. … Location is [Marjory] Stoneman Douglas [High School] in Parkland, Florida.”

“You’re all going to die,” he added as he mimicked the sounds of gunshots.

The videos were obtained by the investigators on the gunman's cellphone, which was taken into evidence after the shooting. Authorities didn't say when the videos were recorded.

"He knew what he was doing," said Andrew Pollack, father of Meadow Pollack who was killed during the massacre. "It's all premeditated murder."

Cruz managed to evade police for about an hour after the shooting, but was eventually arrested. He later confessed to the attack, and faces 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. The shooting incident fueled the gun control debate.

“Here’s the plan. I’m going to take Uber in the afternoon before 2:40 p.m.,” Cruz says in one clip, apparently seated on a bench. “From there, I’ll go onto the school campus, walk up the stairs, load my bags, and get my AR and shooting people at the main courtyard and people will die.”

Cruz had arrived at the school in an Uber, and opened fire just after 2:20 p.m. EDT. His words in another video hints it was filmed the day of the massacre.

"Today is the day, the day it all begins - the day of my massacre shall begin. All the kid in school will run in fear and hide. From the wrath of my power, they will know who I am. I am nothing, I am no one, my life is nothing and meaningless," he says.

In the video, Cruz plays the victim, saying he lives a life of "seclusion and solitude" and that he's had "enough" of people telling him what to do. The 19-year-old ended the clip by proclaiming his love for a woman he identified only by her first name.

“My love for you, Angie, will never go away,” he said. “I hope to see you in the afterlife."

Since the Feb. 14 mass shooting, many who knew Cruz shared their thoughts and opinions of him. In an exclusive interview with CNN, longtime neighbor Joelle Guarino described Cruz's warning signs that were particularly troubling. Guarino described Cruz as a distant child with occasional violent tendencies, traits she noticed over the years. His home life was also described as less than ideal.

RELATED STORIES