NBC Miami: “The suspect in the 2018 killing of 17 people at a Florida high school is finally going on trial – but not for the slayings. Jury selection begins Monday on charges Nikolas Cruz attacked a Broward County jail guard nine months after the Feb. 14, 2018, shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Cruz, a former Stoneman Douglas student, brawled with Sgt. Raymond Beltran after being jailed on charges of killing 14 students and three staff members and wounding 17 others. No date has been set for the murder trial, which has been delayed by the pandemic and arguments over witnesses and evidence. It may start in the next few months.”

“‘The accused murderer who took our children’s lives is clearly violent and took that out on a guard. He needs to face the justice system for that,’ said Tony Montalto, president of Stand With Parkland, a group comprised of victims’ families. His 14-year-old daughter, Gina, died in the shooting. Cruz, 23, faces a possible 15-year sentence if convicted of attempted criminal battery on a law enforcement officer and three lesser charges. Cruz will get either death or life in prison without parole if he is later found guilty of first-degree murder, but this trial still has relevance. If Cruz is convicted of attacking Beltran, prosecutors can argue that is an aggravating factor when they seek his execution during the penalty phase of his murder trial if convicted.”