Nikolas Cruz, the notorious Parkland shooter, has agreed to donate his brain to science as part of a “unique” civil settlement reached with Anthony Borges, one of his victims, according to recent court documents and experts.
Borges, 21, was one of 17 individuals who were shot (5 times) and survived as Cruz used an AR-15 rifle to massacre students and staffers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018.
“I figured if scientists studied his brain, they might be able to figure out what created this monster,” explained Borges’ lawyer, Alex Arreaza, to Fox News Digital. “Maybe there was some kind of imbalance that caused this that we can prevent in the future.”
Borges’ attorney says he proposed the unusual stipulation to the court, and the agreement also gives Borges the right to Cruz’s name for use in movies, books, and other media. This new settlement also bars Cruz from giving any interviews without Borges’ permission and blocks him from making a profit from his crime. “We didn’t want him to be able to continue torturing the families,” said Arreaza, pointing to O.J. Simpson’s book “If I Did It” as a cautionary tale.
Berkeley-based attorney Scott Herndon, who has represented victims of mass shootings, called the settlement novel. “I’ve never heard of anything like this before. It’s pretty unique,” he told Fox News Digital. “It underscores the feeling of those left behind that whatever can be done to avoid these massacres in the future should be done.”
During a Zoom meeting between Borges’ father, Rory Borges, Cruz, and Arreaza, the agreement was finalized. Borges, who is suffering from PTSD, did not feel comfortable joining the discussions. “You could see what a psychopath he is,” Arreaza further commented. “He looked at Rory when we were all done and asked if he could apologize, and Nikolas apologized to him like they had been in a car accident together. It was just very cold and weird.”
In addition, Borges was also assigned $430,000, which Cruz is expected to receive from a relative’s life insurance policy. Borges had filed a lawsuit against School Resource Officer Scot Peterson and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for failing to act during the massacre. Along with other victims of the shooting, Borges had previously reached an undisclosed settlement with the FBI and one with the Broward County Public School District ($1.25 million). He is haunted by the memory of the tragedy and is relieved that the massacre site is being demolished. “Every time he drove by there, it brought back memories,” noted Arreaza.