More than a dozen families for the victims of the Parkland, Florida, high school massacre have reached a settlement with the Justice Department in connection with a lawsuit they filed after the FBI failed to act on tips warning about the shooter, according to a court filing on Monday.
After three years of litigation, “the parties hereby advise the Court that they have reached an agreement to settle all of the claims at issue,” according to the joint notice of agreement to settle the federal lawsuit filed on Monday. The Justice Department will pay $127.5 million to the families, according to a source familiar with the case.
On Valentine’s Day 2018, Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and murdered 17 students and faculty members and injured 17 others. According to the lawsuit, the FBI received tips about Cruz’s violent behavior, mental instability, and a large purchase of firearms, yet failed to intervene.
Cruz pleaded guilty to the shooting in October and faces the death penalty in an upcoming sentencing hearing.
