The Prosecutor's Office shows the jury a video in which Nikolas Cruz shoots the Parkland students and then finishes them off at close range

By Terry Spencer

The jury of Nikolas Cruz's trial for the February 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida, saw an explicit video on Tuesday of how he murdered 17 children and educators in the classrooms and hallways of the three-story Marjory Stoneman Douglas school building. .

The video, compiled from footage from 13 security cameras in the building, was not shown to the public in court, where several of the victims' parents were present.

According to prosecutors, it showed Cruz shooting his victims at point-blank range and even returning later to deliver the coup de grâce.

All 12 jurors and 10 alternates stared at the screens, many raising their hands to their faces during the 15-minute recording, which had no audio.

Some moved restlessly.

One of them looked at the screen, turned to Cruz with wide eyes, then back to the video.

Cruz looked down as the video played and didn't seem to see it.

She would sometimes lift her face and speak to a lawyer in whispers.

Relatives of the victims leave the courtroom after the first day of trial for the Parkland school killer.Carl Juste / AP

Cruz's lawyers objected to showing the video, arguing that any evidentiary value would be outweighed by the visceral reaction it would produce from jurors, and that witness statements about what happened would suffice.

Judge Elizabeth Scherer dismissed the objection, saying a video that accurately reflects Cruz's crimes does not unfairly prejudice his case.

Prosecutors used the video to prove aggravating factors, including that Cruz acted in a cold, calculated and cruel manner.

Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 more counts of attempted murder of the people he injured.

The jury will decide whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

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The jury also heard on the second day of the trial the testimony of Christopher McKenna, a ninth grader when Cruz opened fire in the school on February 14, 2018. He had left his English class to go to the bathroom and greeted other two students Luke Hoyer and Martin Duque in the hallway on the first floor.