Zachary Cruz, the brother of accused Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz, says he wants to dedicate himself to ending bullying, and that he believes bullying contributed to his brother’s actions durinf the Valentine's Day massacre.
“Because my brother didn’t really fit in with a lot of people and I saw the effects of that, like, firsthand,” Zachary Cruz told CNN affiliate WPEC outside of an animal boarding house in Green Acres, Florida, on Sunday morning. “It’s a real issue so I just want to try to change that.”
On Feb. 14, Cruz’s Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 students and faculty.
Zachary Cruz previously told investigators he bullied his adopted brother Nikolas when they were younger, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s report.
Two days after the shooting, Cruz said he felt guilty about it and thought he could have prevented it, a detective wrote.
“There’s a lot of things I wish I could have did to prevent it,” he said to WPEC. “I wish I could have stopped it somehow.”
Cruz spoke to reporters Sunday before moving to Virginia, after a judge ruled this week he could serve the rest of his probation there.
He’s moving with the assistance of the legal rights group Nexus Derechos Humanos to participate in a program that provides counseling and will give him a job as a maintenance technician.