Florida school killer of 17 was bullied by younger brother?

@TheHorse (203718)
Walnut Creek, California
March 3, 2018 3:20pm CST
I just read that Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old who murdered 17 people at a school in Florida, was bullied by his younger (and larger) brother during childhood. The younger brother, Zachary Cruz, has come out and said he regrets bullying his older brother over the years. Apparently, they are actually biological half-brothers, adopted by the mother who raised them since infancy. She passed away late last year. The boys' adoptive father died of a heart ailment in 2004. Do you think that most bullies were bullied somewhere along the way? It sounds like this young man had been through a lot in his short life.
The younger half-brother of accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz appears to have broken his silence more than a week after the massacre. A person identifying himself as Zachary Cruz opened u…
13 people like this
10 responses
@marguicha (214294)
• Chile
3 Mar 18
Bullying does not explain mass killing. I know a lot of people who have been bullied when small. I was, for one. My mother did not listen to what I said. In those days children´s words were not that important. But I am not a killer. I´d like to ask all of you, mylotters, how many of you had problems at school or with siblings.
4 people like this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 18
I had a brother who did not care for me, but I can't say I was bullied by peers. There were kids from the poor neighborhood next to ours that would "jump" us and try to steal our money and bicycles, but it wasn't bullying. It was just...economics.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 18
I agree with you that bullying does not explain mass killing. Did you read my comment to @Corbin5? I'm assuming that the killer has a history of mental illness somewhere in his biological background.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (214294)
• Chile
3 Mar 18
@Platespinner I absolutely agree.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (133754)
• Roseburg, Oregon
3 Mar 18
I can understand how a bullied person would want to get even but now how they can go out and kill other people who had nothing to do with the bulling.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 18
Yes, there's more to the story than just bullying.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23222)
• Bangalore, India
4 Mar 18
@jstory The human psyche is strange. He needed someone to blame. Something must have acted as a trigger which brought the focus on school and students. It could have had been anyone depending on what pushed him at that point of time.
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
4 Mar 18
Being bullied is not be enough to make you a criminal. I have been bullied by my younger brother when we were kind. He is younger but A LOT BIGGER than I am.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
5 Mar 18
@TheHorse I think that we try to justify too much criminals for their actions.
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Mar 18
Yep. I agree. I was regularly attacked in childhood by poor kids who wanted my money or my bicycle. I never became violent toward others.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (57305)
• Centralia, Washington
3 Mar 18
Maybe but that's no excuse. Not at all. I have been hassled by many people most of my life, including two brothers. I am not out hunting for weapons cause of it.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Mar 18
It is not an excuse. You are right.
1 person likes this
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
4 Mar 18
Sounds like that young man has some regrets for his actions towards his brother.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Mar 18
Yes. But being bullied does not make someone shoot and kill 17 people. I bet the bullied sibling had some mental issues.
1 person likes this
@just4him (303392)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
5 Mar 18
@TheHorse I'm sure he did. You don't just go out and kill someone without some kind of mental issues.
@Daljinder (23222)
• Bangalore, India
4 Mar 18
I am thinking that as much detroiteration we are doing with human psyche and the number of mental illnesses cropping up..........we are also witnessing that how mentally / emotionally fragile new generation is as compared to the older ones. Who is to blame for that? Moreover, what could possibly be done to fix it?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
4 Mar 18
I think the younger generation is more isolated. Isolated from each other.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23222)
• Bangalore, India
5 Mar 18
@TheHorse That they are!
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
6 Mar 18
Two people can experience the same sad things in their lives yet react completely differently. There must be more to the story. I also don't understand why shooting innocent people would be an adequate revenge for being bullied. Shooting the bully would be understandable.
@JudyEv (323673)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Mar 18
I guess some who are bullied manage to move on and forget but for others the memories remain to haunt them.
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23222)
• Bangalore, India
4 Mar 18
@JusyEv How true is that !!!
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (116876)
• Anniston, Alabama
4 Mar 18
Its a sad world we live in, how will this generation ever run the country?
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (203718)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Mar 18
There are some good thinkers and responsible individuals in every generation. But look who is President of the US now! It's a strange world we live in.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43451)
• Denver, Colorado
9 Mar 18
I hate bullying, but it's not an excuse to pick up an Uzi and wipe out half the population.