“We wanted complete accountability,” attorney Alex Arreaza told CNN. “People sit in prison and don’t have things to do. They get bored. We wanted to shut [Cruz] down completely. His story will be told by his victims—not by him.”
A mass shooting survivor has settled a series of claims filed against Nikolas Cruz, the 25-year-old killer convicted of opening fire on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and staff in 2018.
According to The Associated Press, the settlement was announced earlier this week by Anthony Borges. Under its terms, Borges now holds exclusive rights to Cruz’s name—and will have to sign off on any proposed use of the shooter’s likeness in books, movies, or television. The agreement also forbids Cruz from granting media interviews without first obtaining Borges’ permission.
“We wanted complete accountability,” attorney Alex Arreaza told CNN. “People sit in prison and don’t have things to do. They get bored. We wanted to shut [Cruz] down completely. His story will be told by his victims—not by him.”
Borges, who is now 21 years old, was a teenage student at the Parkland, Florida, high school when Cruz shot him five times in the back and in the legs. Surveillance footage from a third-floor camera shows Cruz pointing his rifle at the wounded Borges. But, instead of firing, Cruz moved on.
Arreaza indicated that, at some point during settlement negotiations, he asked Cruz why he didn’t kill Borges. However, the shooter said that he could not remember.
Borges, notes The Associated Press, was “a promising soccer player” before the attack. In the years since, he has undergone more than a dozen surgeries—and still struggles with chronic pain caused by his injuries.
Although Borges received crowd-sourced financial support, a $1.25 million settlement from the Broward County school district, and an undisclosed sum from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arreaza says it is difficult to determine whether his client has received enough money to cover the costs of his future medical care.
Borges’ agreement with Cruz will require that the killer forfeit any payment he might receive from later life insurance proceeds, but it is not clear whether Cruz remains a beneficiary to any of his family members’ policies.
But the settlement, Arreaza said, will still prevent Cruz from speaking to the media or making money off his story.
“It took a lot to coordinate all that,” Arreaza said. “Our objective was to get closure for Anthony and his family.”
“Anthony doesn’t want to walk in his house one day and see a Netflix special that [shows Cruz] talking about his thoughts on what he did. This was a way we could shut it down,” Arreaza said. “Anthony ultimately has control.”
Arreaza said that he is not worried about having to enforce the settlement, either now or in the future.
“If [Cruz] goes to give an interview now, he might be able to slip one under the wire,” he said. “But we’re going to have the power to go back into court and shut him down. He will be more trouble ten years from now, when he starts getting bored.”
Outside of Cruz’s name, likeness, and financial concessions, the agreement also requires that he participate in scientific studies about mass shooters and donate his body and brain to science.
“Hopefully,” Arreaza said, “you can find something from [Cruz’s remains] and prevent future incidents. Maybe something can help, but it won’t happen unless it’s studied.”
Sources
Parkland school shooting survivor gains rights to gunman’s name in unique civil settlement
Survivor of Parkland school massacre wins ownership of shooter’s name in lawsuit settlement
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