Grieving parents of Parkland mass shooting victims broke down in tears as they hear how gunman Nikolas Cruz’s AR-15 ‘ripped’ their children apart.
Medical examiner Dr. Terril Tops, who performed the autopsy on the victims, described the extent of the injuries he saw.
In court were the devastated families of the victims, including Joaquin Oliver’s grieving mother and Luke Hoyer’s parents.
Oliver’s mother left the courtroom while The Hoyers could be seen wiping their tears away as Dr. Tops described the children’s deaths.
The heartbreaking testimony came during the ninth day of the shooter’s sentencing hearing as prosecutors seek the death sentence.
Cruz reportedly pleaded guilty to the 17 murders he committed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
Now 23, he also pleaded guilty to 17 counts of attempted murder.
Gena and Tom Hoyer could be seen sobbing and holding each other as Dr. Tops described how their son Luke was killed by a pair of bullets.
“A significant amount of bleeding, the bleeding went into his right chest cavity and started compressing his lungs, by basically drowning his and compressing his lungs,” he described, adding that the first bullet was enough to kill the young boy but the gunman shot him again, fracturing his pelvis.
Dr. Tops also described the injuries of the 37-year-old football coach who was killed while shielding students from Cruz’s bullets.
The medical examiner said that Feis’ ribs were fractured, with one being ‘obliterated.’ He also said that the coach’s pancreas and liver were ‘obliterated’ by his wounds.
Dr. Tops then described the wounds Oliver, 17, suffered after being shot at close range by Cruz.
He said that Oliver had injuries to his hands, a grisly wound to his head, and ‘large gaping’ holes in his left leg.
Jurors were shown images from Oliver’s autopsy as the medical examiner described the head wound which he described as ‘a cherry bomb inside one’s head.’
Oliver’s mother had to leave the courtroom as she was inconsolable during the testimony.
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