The younger brother of the man behind the 2018 Parkland mass shooting was arrested in Virginia on Tuesday after deputies say he trespassed on multiple school properties after hours, trying to get inside.
Zachary P. Cruz, 24, is now charged with three misdemeanor counts of trespassing on school or church property at night, the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook. He has since been released from jail.
The arrest comes roughly a week before the Feb. 14 anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas massacre that killed 17 people.
The investigation began after Cruz “was observed” on the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center Complex in Fishersville, Va., about a half-hour before midnight on Jan. 25, the sheriff’s office said. The WWRC, which provides services to people with disabilities seeking work, is located next to multiple schools.
Deputies, joined by Virginia State Police and the Woodrow Wilson Police Department, reviewed surveillance footage from Augusta County Public Schools and found that, the same night that Cruz went to the rehabilitation center, he visited three schools: Wilson Middle School, Wilson High School, and the Valley Career and Technical Center, all located within the same area, according to the release.
The footage depicted Cruz approaching the schools’ doors, trying to open them, and “peering inside,” police said.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies had previously arrested Cruz on trespassing charges in 2018 after he skateboarded onto the Marjory Stoneman Douglas campus in Parkland a month after the mass shooting.
His brother, Nikolas Cruz, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in the killings of 17 people and wounding another 17.
A former student, like the shooter, Zachary Cruz had been warned to stay off the property, authorities said. He told a deputy he went there because he wanted to “soak it in.” He was involuntarily hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act. A judge set his bond at $500,000, unheard of for a trespassing charge, out of fears that he could pose a threat to the public like his brother. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to six months’ probation.
Cruz then sought permission to move to Virginia to start anew after the mass shooting and his own run-ins with law enforcement. An organization called Nexus Services had offered him housing at a condo in Staunton, about 20 minutes from Fishersville, a job as a maintenance mechanic and counseling.
Cruz was released from the Middle River Regional Jail Thursday afternoon, according to an update posted by the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.
“I understand how troubling this situation has been for you, your families and our community,” Sheriff Donald Smith wrote in the update. “The safety and security of all students, staff and community members are our top priorities. I want to assure you this matter is being taken very seriously.”
Deputies have “implemented heightened security measures” around the schools, Smith added, “including increased law enforcement presence on and around school grounds. Additionally, we are closely monitoring any potential threats and staying in communication with school officials to ensure all necessary precautions are in place.”
Information from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel archives was used in this report.