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Florida school shooting suspect faces trial for jail brawl

School Shooting Florida
Posted at 10:38 AM, Oct 03, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-03 10:38:38-04

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The suspect in the 2018 killing of 17 people at a Florida high school goes on trial this week for allegedly attacking a jail guard.

Jury selection begins Monday on charges Nikolas Cruz attacked a Broward County jail guard nine months after the 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Cruz faces a possible 15-year sentence if convicted of attempted criminal battery on Sgt. Raymond Beltran.

Attorneys for the 23-year-old Cruz are expected to argue that Beltran provoked the fight. No trial date for the murder charges has been set.

He will get either death or life in prison without parole if he is later convicted of first-degree murder,