PARKLAND, Fla. – The suspected gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will plead guilty immediately in exchange for a state promise to not seek the death penalty.
Broward County public defender Howard FInkelstein confirmed the offer that suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, will make.
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There is no word on whether the state will accept the deal.
Cruz appeared in court Thursday after being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and was ordered held without bond after Wednesday's deadly shootings.
As Cruz is older than 18, the state can refuse the deal and legally charge him with the death penalty.
Cruz confessed to "shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on the school grounds," according to a probable cause affidavit.
The former Stoneman Douglas student told investigators that he heard voices in his head, giving him instructions on how to conduct the attack, law enforcement sources told ABC News.