The United States Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has reached a $127.5 million settlement with the survivors and relatives of the victims of the 2018 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
The settlement resolves 40 civil cases stemming from the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 dead and 17 injured, the department said in a statement.
“The agreement does not amount to an admission of guilt by the United States,” he said.
Survivors of the deadliest high school shooting in US history and the families of 16 of those killed had sued the government for damages.
Nikolas Cruz, a former high school student, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
In their lawsuits, survivors and family members accused the FBI of negligence for failing to act on tips received prior to the attack, saying Cruz could be potentially dangerous.
“I know it’s going to explode,” a woman who knew Cruz told an FBI tip line on Jan. 5, 2018, five weeks before the shooting.
Cruz was going to “go into a school and start shooting on the spot,” the woman allegedly told the FBI.
“Contrary to its established rules, the FBI failed to take any action on the information it received,” the suit charged.
Cruz had also engaged in “disruptive and threatening” behavior on several previous occasions, including posting images on social media showing weapons, according to the lawsuit.
