Uber Driver Who Drove Nikolas Cruz To School Before Shooting Says She Mistook Bag With AR-15 For A Guitar Case
The Uber driver who drove Nikolas Cruz to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School minutes before his murderous rampage has spoken out for the first time since the incident.
The female driver, whose name has been withheld, shared her side of the story and revealed some intriguing details about the 19-year-old suspect. Speaking with CBS Miami, she recalled the moment when she picked up Cruz in Parkland around 2:00 p.m. on Valentine’s Day.
Apparently, Cruz ordered her to drive him to school and even calmly told her that he’s heading to “music class.” The Uber driver admitted that she was convinced that her passenger was indeed going to class as he showed no signs of imminent danger.
In fact, she even thought the large bag Cruz was carrying was a guitar bag. Little did she know that the bag actually concealed an AR-15 assault rifle, which he later used to murder 17 people.
“I saw him with a backpack which I thought was a guitar case. He told me, ‘I am going to my music class.'”
During the 13-minute ride, the female driver claimed Cruz showed no signs of danger and seemed like a “normal person.” She also noted that he didn’t speak much on the way to their destination and appeared really calm.
#ICYMI – Exclusive – @careycoddcbs4 spoke to the Uber driver who drove Nikolas Cruz to #MarjoryStonemanDouglas. https://t.co/iJnI8IhDwH #MSDStrong #NeverAgainMSD
— CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami) February 28, 2018
At around 2:21 p.m., the Uber driver dropped off Cruz at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and continued her day. Minutes later, she heard the news about a deadly shootout at the said school.
“I saw the news and I thought ‘Oh, I just left someone over there,'” she recalled.
Shortly after that, the female driver got a call from Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies and informed her about Cruz. Although they reassured her that she was not in trouble, the driver admitted that she still feels involved with the tragic incident, New York Post reported.
Days after the Florida school shooting, the Uber driver received a call to take a passenger to one of the victim’s funerals. She recalled how her passenger at that time wept when she dropped them off, adding that she became emotional as well.
After the incident, she told the outlet that she feels lucky to be alive. She also revealed that she had always feared being shot by passengers in the past, especially since “anybody can have a gun.”
Meanwhile, authorities searched the Uber car Cruz traveled in after the shootout but found nothing.
Nikolas Cruz open-fired at his former high school on February 14, instantly killing 17 people. He is now facing 17 counts of premeditated murder and is being held in a maximum security facility.
