The gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in 2018 pleaded guilty Wednesday to as many first-degree murder charges, and the legal issues in the case now turn to whether he will be sentenced to death. Attorneys for Nikolas Cruz, 23, have said they will argue against the death penalty for their client with a sentencing trial expected in the coming months. Family members of the victims looked on in the courtroom, wiping away tears as prosecutors provided a narrative of how the shooting unfolded. Cruz's guilty plea was unexpected; there were plans to begin jury selection in the next few months. His lawyers had previously offered the guilty pleas with hopes the death penalty would be dropped, but prosecutors have continued to seek the death penalty. Armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, Cruz, then 19, fatally shot 14 students and three teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Valentine's Day more than three years ago. The rampage, the deadliest at a high school in U.S. history, sparked national debate around guns and school safety. A group of students who survived the shooting organized a massive protest in Washington weeks later to demand changes to the nation's gun laws.