School Shooter Faked Symptoms, Experts Say
(DailyVantage.com) – Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and shot 34 people, killing 17, in February 2018. His sentencing trial is currently underway, and his defense team is trying to prove their client suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which they claim caused mental issues. However, experts aren’t so sure.
On Tuesday, October 4, prosecutors introduced charts documenting Cruz’s IQ and other test results. Still, one of the prosecution’s experts said a particular set of results didn’t match up with the events of that fateful day.
How fast can the confessed killer tap his dominant left index finger?
A person who genuinely scored so poorly on the finger tapping test “would not be able to pull the trigger like that,” said neuropsychologist Robert Denney about the #Parkland Shooter. https://t.co/8bMPsoFKHO
— Court TV (@CourtTV) October 5, 2022
When administered a finger-tapping test, Cruz scored significantly below what an average male would. Yet, according to Robert Denney, a neuropsychologist, the video footage of the killer shows him rapidly firing the AR-15-style rifle and reloading it quickly — tasks he shouldn’t be capable of performing if his test results are accurate. Cruz “would not be able to pull the trigger like that,” Denney said, possibly implying the shooter faked his symptoms.
Further, Denney testified the test results don’t indicate someone who suffers from FAS. This conclusion could spell trouble for the defense, as the diagnosis remains the sole basis for defending attorneys’ insistence that Cruz is a troubled individual who doesn’t deserve the death penalty.
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