Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz's Florida location being kept SECRET over fears he could be murdered

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz's location in Florida state custody is being kept secret amid fears he could be murdered after he was spared the death penalty.

Cruz murdered 14 students and three school staff members and injured 17 other students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, and was sentenced to life in prison in late October after a highly publicized trial.

The 24-year-old confessed killer avoided execution after the jury was deadlocked and was unable to reach a unanimous agreement on putting Cruz to death.

The jury then recommended he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the heinous murders and attempted murders.

Since his conviction, Cruz has spent the last nine weeks in custody of The Florida Department of Corrections.

The state has refused to disclose Cruz's exact location, which is permitted under state law if the information disclosed would create a security risk to the defendant.

But some of the victims' families openly wished Cruz would get put to death and suggested other inmates take the law into their own hands, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Nicholas Cruz, 24,  murdered 14 students and three school staff members and injured 17 other students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. He was sentenced to life in prison in late October after a highly publicized months-long trial

Cruz has spent the last nine weeks in custody of The Florida Department of Corrections. The state has refused to disclose Cruz's exact location, which is permitted under state law if disclosing the information would create a security risk to the defendant

PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS: Top Row L-R: Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet, Martin Duque, Meadow Pollack, Cara Loughran -- Second Row L-R: Alyssa Alhadeff, Luke Hoyer, Joaquin Oliver, Gina Montalto -- Third Row L-R: Alaina Petty, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang, Alex Schachter -- Fourth Row L-R: Helena Ramsey, Scott Beigel, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon

'You're talking about someone who could easily be murdered by another inmate,' said Ron McAndrew, a retired Florida prison warden who is now an expert witness on the corrections system.

'They're going to do everything they can to keep him alive. Too many inmates have nothing to lose.'

Florida is one of the states that participates in the Interstate Prison Compact, an agreement that transfers high-profile inmates to another location if their is a security risk involved. Multiple sources said Cruz is not part of this program.

During the case, Reuters initially reported the jury recommended the death penalty for Cruz, but issued a correction shortly after.

The verdict was reached that Cruz would not be sent to the slaughterhouse but instead sentenced to life in prison without parole on November 1.

The normally blank stared Cruz face erupted in a chilling smirk as Chief Assistant Public Defender David Wheeler placed an arm around his shoulder.

Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. The only other option is life in prison.

It sent the courtroom into a tailspin as many distraught family members and friends of the victims expressed outrage as others wept in despair.

Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son Scott was murdered, branded Cruz as an 'animal' and described the case as the 'most perfect death penalty case.'

She added: 'As far as I'm concerned, the fact that he's going to go into some sort of general population, he's going to have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

'I hope he has the fear in him every second of his life. He should live in that fear and be afraid every second of the day and his life.'

Cruz, 24 smirks upon learning from Chief Assistant Public Defender David Wheeler that he would be spared the death penalty and will get a life sentence without parole 

Judge Elizabeth Scherer who cannot overrule the jury's recommendation, will formally issue the life sentence on November 1

Devastated Ilan and Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter died in the slaying, comforted each other as the 17 verdicts were detailed in court

Corey Hixon, the son of athletic director Chris Hixon who was killed in the mass slaying walked out of court hand in hand with a female companion as the verdicts were read out.

Ilan Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was shot eight times, said the decision 'sets a precedent' for the next mass killing.

'I'm disgusted with our legal system, I'm disgusted with those jurors,' he said. 'I'm disgusted with the system.'

Other relatives had their heads in their hands as they listened to the outcome of the sentencing.

A woman was seen appearing to mouth 'unbelievable' as she was comforted by her husband as the verdicts were read out.

Gina Montalto's parents began clutching each other's hands before their reading began and started crying. Luke Hoyer's mother was also crying.

Jaime Guttenberg's father and Alaina Petty's mother were holding their heads in their hands. 

During the three-month trial, the prosecution had argued Cruz's crime was both premeditated as well as heinous and cruel, which are among the criteria that Florida law establishes for deciding on a death sentence.

Cruz's defense team had acknowledged the severity of his crimes, but asked jurors to consider his lifelong mental health disorders resulting from his biological mother's substance abuse during pregnancy.

During their seven hours of deliberation, jurors only asked for a readback of one testimony - the prosecution's cross-examination of a defense psychologist who said Cruz suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

They later requested to see the AR-15 that Cruz used in the shootings.

Ilan Alhadeff, whose daughter Alyssa was shot eight times, said that the decision 'sets a precedent' for the next mass killing

Gena Hoyer, whose son Luke was killed in the shootings, closes her eyes during the verdict

Jaime Guttenberg's father reacts to the verdict clasping his hands together and he leans forward in the courtroom

There was objection from the Broward Sheriff's Office on providing the jury with the gun, for 'security reasons,' but just before day two of deliberations began, it was decided the gun would be shown without the firing pen.

The gun, which Cruz purchased legally in 2017, was previously shown to the jury during witness testimony back in July.

Broward sheriff's Sgt. Gloria Crespo previously testified that Cruz, then 19, had five gun magazines remaining in the vest, containing 160 total bullets.

He had fired more than 100 shots as he stalked the three-story building for seven minutes, firing down hallways and into classrooms.

The jurors also were shown photos Crespo took of the bodies of five students and a teacher who died on the third-floor, all with multiple wounds from being shot at close range.

Cruz's massacre is the deadliest mass shooting that has ever gone to trial in the U.S. Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks by suicide or police gunfire.

Closing arguments from both sides saw the prosecution portraying Cruz as a calculating and brutal murderer.

Meanwhile, Cruz's defense attorney pleaded for mercy and the only other option - life in prison.

Cruz, by his own admission, said he began thinking about committing a school shooting while in middle school, about five years before he carried out the Valentine's Day tragedy.

Back in July during witness testimony, Assistant State Attorney Mike Satz showed the jury and the court the AR-15, which was purchased legally in 2017, that was used in the tragic massacre

Nikolas Cruz, who will soon learn if he'll receive a death sentence or be sent to prison for life, is seen on security footage inside the school in 2018 when he carried out his rampage. Now, on the second day of deliberations, jurors have asked to view the AR-15 he used in the shootings

People are brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting

He said he picked Valentine's Day to make sure it would never be celebrated at the school again.

Cruz pleaded guilty a year ago the massacre and said he chose Valentine's Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday ever again.

The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting that has ever gone to trial in the U.S. Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks by suicide or police gunfire.

Almost exactly a year before the rampage, he purchased his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and his planning became serious about seven months in advance as he researched previous mass shooters, saying he tried to learn from their experience.

Cruz was just 19 years old and had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas at the time of the massacre.

In his guilty plea, he said he was 'very sorry' and asked to be given a chance to help others.

The shooting stunned the nation and reignited debate on gun control since Cruz had legally purchased the gun he used despite his history of mental issues.

There have been more mass shootings, including one in May that left 19 young children and two adults dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

After the latest shootings, Congress did pass legislation to increase funding for school security and mental health care.