Nation Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 17 counts of murder, faces death penalty trial October 20, 2021 Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY Comments Off on Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz pleads guilty to 17 counts of murder, faces death penalty trial The gunman in the 2018 Parkland school shooting pleaded guilty Wednesday to 17 charges of murder. He now faces a death penalty trial.