PARKLAND, FLORIDA — Nikolas Cruz, the teenager who has admitted to shooting up Majority Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day, is apparently getting tons of fan mail and love letters at the Broward County Jail.
The Sun Sentinel reports that teenage girls, and some older men, from around the country have been flooding the jail with letters to Cruz. Some of the mail offers support and sympathy while others include suggestive photos.
“A woman from Chicago enclosed nine suggestive photos, including a shot of cleavage, another in a skimpy bikini eating a Popsicle and a tight shot of her backside as she bent over. Another girl sent photos with Hello Kitty Snapchat filters.”
One letter from an 18-year-old fan describes herself as “a senior in high school. When I saw your picture on the television, something attracted me to you.”
Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein says there are piles of letters coming in...more than he’s ever seen for a defendant.
The jail opens and screens inmates’ mail. Cruz has not had access to the letters because he is on suicide watch.
“We read a few religious ones to him that extended wishes for his soul and to come to God,” Finkelstein tells the Sun Sentinel. “But we have not and will not read him the fan letters or share the photos of scantily-clad teenage girls.”
The money in his commissary account (an account inmates use in jail to buy snacks, coffee, toothpaste, etc.) is also growing: fans have contributed around $800 so far.
But it's not just fan mail where Cruz is getting support. There are several Facebook pages dedicated to the teenage gunman. One page called "Nikolas Cruz For Punishment or Apologize?" has over 1,000 members who regularly voice their sympathy for Cruz, calling him "our Nikolas" and using the hashtag #IStandWithNikolas.
“Save nikolas Cruz don’t let him die,” writes Daneen Clark. “And how can I visit him in jail, I want to talk to him and let him know he’s not alone and there are some people that care for him.”
Cruz is facing 17 counts of first degree murder. The Broward State Attorney’s Office has announced that they will seek the death penalty.
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