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Accused Florida School Shooter Refused Special Services

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PARKLAND (CBSMiami/AP) -- Nikolas Cruz, the self-confessed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter refused to let the district continue providing him with mental health services after he turned 18 and the superintendent of schools says federal law kept them from doing anything about it.

Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie tells the Sun Sentinel "You can't make someone do something when the law says they have the right to make that determination."

Cruz, now 19, is accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day.

Runcie says Cruz had attended a school with programs for emotionally and disabled students, and returned to Douglas in August 2016. By November, he says the "situation had deteriorated." With the support of his mother, Cruz refused special needs services and remained at the school until February 2017.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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