Video shows Parkland shooter attacking deputy behind bars

Nikolas Cruz faces four charges in the Nov. 13, 2018, attack on Sgt. Ray Beltran

By Brooke Baitinger
Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A jailhouse video showing the Parkland shooter in a battle behind bars with a Broward Sheriff’s deputy has been kept under wraps until now, according to a report on WSVN-Ch.7.

Attorneys for the shooter have tried to keep the nearly six-minute video from being seen, but on Thursday, WVSN broadcast it.

Prosecutors have argued that the video should be aired in open court to back up their argument that Nikolas Cruz committed multiple offenses he could be sentenced for.

Cruz, 21, faces four charges in the Nov. 13, 2018, attack on Sgt. Ray Beltran, 42, in the Broward County Main Jail in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Barring a guilty plea by Cruz, the case will go to a jury trial later this year.

WSVN says the video shows Cruz and Beltran alone in the dayroom when Cruz suddenly rushes at Beltran and tackles him. They fight for several minutes with no one else in the room and no assistance from jail staff.