Brother of Parkland shooter arrested in Virginia for allegedly trespassing at three schools

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Parkland shooter’s brother arrested for trespassing

18-year-old Zachary Cruz had reportedly been given warnings to stay away from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The brother of the Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz was arrested last week for allegedly trespassing at three Virginia schools, authorities said. 

Zachary Cruz, 24, was initially seen on Jan. 25 at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Complex in Fishersville, the August County Sheriff’s Office said. That incident prompted an investigation involving the sheriff’s office, the Woodrow Wilson Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. 

During the probe, investigators reviewed surveillance footage from Augusta County Public Schools. It showed Cruz going into the properties of Wilson Middle School, Wilson Memorial High School, and the Valley Career and Technical Center on Jan. 25, authorities said.

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Zachary Cruz, 24, has been charged with trespassing for allegedly going on the property of three Virginia schools.  (Augusta County Sheriff’s Office)

“The footage shows Mr. Cruz approaching exterior doors, attempting to open them, and peering inside, indicating efforts to gain unauthorized access,” a sheriff’s statement said.

Cruz was arrested on Feb. 4 and charged with three misdemeanor counts of trespassing.  

A day after his arrest, the sheriff’s office addressed a video that was live-streamed on social media by Cruz’s attorney. It didn’t involve Cruz being present at any county school properties, authorities said. At the time the video was taken, Cruz was being held at the Middle River Regional Jail. 

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Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for murdering 17 people and attempting to murder 17 more. (Pool camera/ AP)

He was released on Feb. 6. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district. 

In 2018, Cruz was arrested for alleged trespassing on the property of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where his brother shot and killed 17 people — 14 students and three staff members — in one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. He was sentenced in 2022 to life in prison.

People watch as crews begin to demolish the building where seventeen people were killed during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on June 14, 2024. Seventeen people were killed and another seventeen were injured after a 19-year-old former student opened fire at the school on February 14, 2018. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Zachary Cruz’s arrest sheet in that case said he wanted to “reflect on the school shooting and to soak it in.”

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.