Police report: Nikolas Cruz confessed to Florida high school shooting

A Broward County Sheriff's Office report says Nikolas Cruz confessed to being the shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

According to the report, he told interrogating officers that he "began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds" on Wednesday afternoon.

The report adds that Cruz told officers he "brought additional loaded magazines to the school campus and kept them hidden in a backpack until he got on campus to begin his assault."

Cruz told investigators that as students began to flee, he decided to discard his AR-15 rifle and a vest he was wearing so he could blend in with the crowd. Police recovered the rifle and the vest.

The police report adds that Cruz purchased the rifle in February 2017, but does not say where it was purchased.

Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday afternoon at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, killing 17 people.

Nikolas Cruz was arrested about two miles from the school shortly after the shooting and initially taken to a hospital with breathing problems.

Cruz was questioned overnight and booked into the Broward County Jail early Thursday.

Grief counselors are being made available to students and staff after a mass shooting at their Florida high school killed 17 people and left 14 others hospitalized with wounds and injuries.

The Broward County school district says counseling will be offered at five locations for anyone affected by Wednesday afternoon's shooting.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, now a crime scene, will remain closed through the President's Day weekend.