Accused Florida shooter was 'a monster living under our roof'

Brothers James and John Ciaramello stood alongside Nikolas Cruz as junior reserve officer training corps students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school. John recalls him being a bit awkward and quiet but generally good natured. (Feb. 17) AP

The couple who took in accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz after his mother died in November says he was depressed but seemed to be getting happier — and they are baffled at how he became one of the deadliest teen killers in U.S. history.

“We had this monster living under our roof and we didn’t know,” Kimberly Snead told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Saturday. “We didn’t see this side of him.”

Kimberly and Jame Snead told the media outlet their son asked whether Cruz, 19, could move into their Parkland home around Thanksgiving, a few weeks after Cruz's mother died of complications from pneumonia. The Sneads said Cruz was extremely depressed about his mother but seemed to be getting happier.

They said they had no idea the FBI was warned about him, and that many students considered him a threat.

“Everything everybody seems to know, we didn’t know,” James Snead told the Sun Sentinel. “It’s as simple as that.”

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James Snead is an Army veteran and the family has guns, so they had no problem with Cruz owning weapons. But they said they had firm rules about keeping them locked up and said they believed — apparently incorrectly — they had the only key.

The couple said Cruz had the beginnings of a normal life, riding his bike to work at a local Dollar Tree and taking adult education courses at night. He expressed interest in joining the Army. The couple called their mentoring of Cruz "Adulting 101."

They said he was lonely and wanted a girlfriend. They said there were no signs of behavior sometimes associated with mass killers such as animal cruelty. In fact, they said Cruz loved their two dogs and six cats.

Tuesday night was totally normal, they said. Cruz had a steak and cheese sandwich for dinner and went to bed at 8 p.m.

The next day authorities say he walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school, armed with a semiautomatic assault weapon, smoke grenades and a mask. The ensuing rampage left 17 people dead and more than a dozen wounded.

The couple heard about the shooting when their son called in a panic, saying he was not injured but that he heard gunshots at school. Then a SWAT team commander called, asking where Cruz was.

Kimberly told the Sun Sentinel she was sleeping when officers banged on her door, guns drawn, yelling: “Put your hands up.” They searched the house, but Cruz wasn't there.

Cruz was apprehended in a nearby neighborhood shortly after the bloodbath. Authorities say he has confessed to the massacre.

The Sneads' son was interviewed by Broward County Sheriff's officials and released to his parents. The couple said they went to pick him up and saw Cruz being led away.

“Really, Nik? Really?” she said she yelled at him.

“He said he was sorry. He apologized. He looked lost, absolutely lost,” James Snead told the Sun Sentinel. “And that was the last time we saw him.”