Florida principal posts emotional video message for students: 'I will hold you as long as you need'

The principal of the Florida high school where 17 people were killed last week is telling students they will overcome their grief together.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Principal Ty Thompson posted an emotional video message on the school's website and YouTube page on Saturday, just two days after Nikolas Cruz allegedly opened fire inside the school.

“I promise I will hug each and every one of you as many times as you need and I will hold you as long as you need me to,” Thompson said in the video. “For all 3,300 of you and your families and we will get through this together.”

Thompson also thanked the staff and students for their heroic efforts and said they had practiced protocols for these situations regularly before the massacre.

Cruz appeared in Broward County district court briefly Monday, where he mostly kept his head down. He faces 17 counts of premeditated murder and is being held without bail.

More information about him is trickling out and it seems, based on his prior actions, that the expelled student was a ticking time bomb.

The Florida Department of Children and Families investigated Cruz’s home life in 2016 and reportedly discovered some disturbing behavior.

The teen had cut his arms in a Snapchat post, drew a swastika on his backpack, and discussed that he had plans to purchase a gun, according to their investigation.

But eventually a social worker concluded he was a low risk. The teen was also reported to the FBI twice, according to the agency, but they failed to act on the reports. The FBI apologized last week for failing to follow protocol.

RELATED STORIES
Teen Brothers Exchanged Heartbreaking Text Messages During Shooting
Florida Teacher's Quick Action May Have Saved the Lives of Students During Shooting
Couple Who Took In Nikolas Cruz Say Accused Florida Shooter Told Them He Was Sorry