Neighbor: School shooter killed toads after 1 poisoned dog

By TERRY SPENCER
Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former neighbor says mass shooter Nikolas Cruz went on a killing rampage against toads after one fatally poisoned his dog years before murdered 17 at a Florida high school. Paul Gold testified Wednesday that Cruz had an extremely volatile temper where he would break objects but then apologize profusely. He said Cruz would become obsessed with subjects, once talking about penguins nonstop for a year. He said the 23-year-old had difficulty making friends as a child because he acted strangely. Cruz pleaded guilty in October to the 2018 massacre at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. His ongoing trial is to decide whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole.