<P> Cruz had behavioral issues since middle school, but a Washington Post writer said he was "entrenched in the process for getting students help rather than referring them to law enforcement" and he was transferred between schools six times in three years to deal with these problems . In 2014, he was transferred to a school for children with emotional or learning disabilities . There were reports that he made threats against other students . He returned to Stoneman Douglas High School two years later, only to be banished from the school in 2017 for disciplinary reasons . An email from the school administration had circulated among teachers, warning that he had made threats against other students . This led the school to ban him from wearing a backpack on campus . </P> <P> Psychiatrists recommended an involuntary admission of Cruz to a residential treatment facility starting in 2013 . The Florida Department of Children and Families investigated him in September 2016 for Snapchat posts in which he cut both his arms and said he planned to buy a gun . At this time, a school resource officer requested to have him undergo an involuntary psychiatric examination under the provisions of the Baker Act . Two guidance counselors agreed, but a mental institution did not . State investigators reported he had depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In their assessment, they concluded he "was at low risk of harming himself or others". He had previously received mental health treatment, but had not received treatment in the year leading up to the shooting . </P> <P> Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel described Cruz's online profiles and accounts as "very, very disturbing". They contained pictures and posts of him with a variety of weapons, including long knives, a shotgun, a pistol, and a BB gun . Police said that he held "extremist" views; social media accounts that were thought to be linked to him contained anti-black and anti-Muslim slurs . YouTube comments linked to him include "I wanna die Fighting (sic) killing shit ton (sic) of people", threats against police officers and Antifa, and intent to mimic the University of Texas tower shooting . In February 2017, he legally purchased an AR - 15 style rifle from a Coral Springs gun store . A year later, he used this weapon to commit the mass shooting at his former school . </P> <P> Items recovered by police at the scene included gun magazines with swastikas carved in them . One student reported that Cruz had drawn a swastika and the words "I hate niggers" on his backpack . CNN reported that Cruz was in a private Instagram group chat where he expressed racist, homophobic, antisemitic, and anti-immigrant (xenophobic) views . He said he wanted to kill gay people and Mexicans, and talked about keeping black people in chains . He said he hated black people "simply because they were black," and Jewish people because he believed "they wanted to destroy the world". He also referred to white women who engaged in interracial relationships as traitors . </P>

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