Nikolas Cruz punched home's walls, threatened to return with gun months before shooting

Dispatch calls detail how agencies coordinated efforts after school shooting

LANTANA, Fla. – Shortly after the death of his mother, Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was living with his mother's friend in Lantana, where deputies were called after Cruz got into a fight with her 22-year-old son and was threatening to get his gun and come back, according to documents obtained Thursday by Local 10 News.

According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office offense report from Nov. 29, Rock Deschamps called 911 after Cruz "began punching walls and breaking items inside the home."

File: PBSO 11.28.17 Nikolas Cruz incident in Lantana

Deschamps told deputies that Cruz punched him in his jaw when he tried to calm the 19-year-old down.
"(Cruz) bought a gun from Dick's last week and is now going to pick it up," Deschamps' mother told a 911 dispatcher, according to a log of the call contained in the report.

The woman went on to tell the dispatcher that Cruz "bought tons of ammo," has "used a gun against (people) before" and "has put the gun to others' heads in the past."

According to the offense report, Cruz told deputies that "he became upset because he misplaced a picture of his mother who recently passed away."

Cruz, who ran to a nearby park after the fight, told deputies that he punched the wall, but he said Deschamps punched him first "because he was breaking things."

"He said he was sorry for losing his temper," the report said.

Deschamps told deputies that he didn't want Cruz to go to jail because he "has been going through a lot with his loss" and signed a refusal to prosecute form.

Local 10 News investigative reporter Amy Viteri went to Deschamps' home Thursday, but he refused to speak about Cruz.

"I'm not going to say anything," he said. "I don't need to. This is ridiculous."  

There is no reference to guns in the offense report, but the dispatch log indicates that Cruz told deputies there were guns inside the home.

The incident was one of three domestic dispute calls to the home in less than a month for deputies.
Two days before deputies went to the home for a domestic dispute involving a child custody issue between Rocxanne Deschamps and her ex-boyfriend on Oct. 29, deputies had been called to the same address for an earlier incident involving the estranged couple. A deputy met with Rocxanne, who said she didn't her son to go with his father to Key West.

File: PBSO 10.29.17 incident in Lantana

The deputy called Paul Gold, who said their son was OK and will remain in his custody "until she is in a better state of mind."

"At no point in time did I feel Tyler's welfare was an issue after speaking with Paul," the deputy wrote in the report. "To the contrary, he appears to be better off with his father at the present time" because of the way Rocxanne was behaving, the deputy wrote.

File: PBSO 10.27.17 incident in Lantana

Sometime after the November incident, Cruz moved in with the Snead family, with whom he was staying at the time of last week's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz confessed to fatally shooting 14 students and three teachers with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle he had purchased last year.

A series of 911 calls released Thursday details how Broward Sheriff's Office detectives asked Palm Beach County deputies to go to the Lantana home on the day of the shooting.

"We have reason to believe that that address is family members related to our suspect," a BSO homicide investigator said.

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office captain expressed concern about going to the home before the family knew of Cruz's involvement.

File: PBSO 2.14.18 call for assistance in Lantana

The calls detail how the FBI wanted Palm Beach County deputies to watch the home until BSO and federal agents arrived.

Cruz is currently being held without bond on 17 counts of premeditated murder.