Portrait of Nikolas Cruz

Birthday profile

Nikolas Cruz

Nikolas Cruz, American mass murderer

Born
September 24, 1998
Age in 2026
28
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1998

About Nikolas Cruz

Nikolas Jacob Cruz (born September 24, 1998) is an American mass murderer who perpetrated the Parkland high school shooting, one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States. On February 14, 2018, Cruz killed fourteen students and three staff members, while injuring seventeen others, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. In November 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Cruz had been known for his behavioral problems since preschool, and as a teenager on social media, he shared his obsessions with mass shootings and expressed racist, sexist, antisemitic, xenophobic, and homophobic views. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He legally purchased various firearms before the shooting. == Early life == Cruz was born to Brenda Norma Woodard (June 25, 1956 – August 23, 2021) on September 24, 1998, in Margate, Florida. Woodard was described as a career criminal who had once been arrested for attempting to buy crack cocaine while pregnant with her son. His biological father's identity is unknown. Nikolas was placed in an orphanage after his birth and was adopted by Roger and Lynda Cruz.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Nikolas Cruz timeline

  1. On March 7, 2018, a grand jury indicted Cruz on a total of 34 charges: 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder.
  2. During the week of April 8–12, 2018, Scherer included a three-page letter from a Minnesotan into the court record of the case.
  3. On August 20, 2022, the Sun Sentinel released drawings written by Cruz in prison, which he had created in May.
  4. In November 2022, Cruz was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the shooting, which remains one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States.

The world when Nikolas Cruz was born

Nikolas Cruz was born in 1998. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1998

  • #1 song"Too Close" – Next
  • Top movieShakespeare in Love
  • Top TV showSeinfeld
  • Best-selling bookA Man in Full – Tom Wolfe

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMark McGwire hits 70 home runs, breaking Roger Maris's record
  • Top headlinePresident Clinton impeached by the House of Representatives
  • Technology milestoneGoogle founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin
  • Defining fadFurby
  • Notable inventionGoogle founded
  • World population5.93 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderBill Clinton
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonChicago Bulls (NBA)
  • U.S. population270.2M

1998 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Nikolas Cruz's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19982026
Gas$1.06$3.45/gal
Average home$128,400$435,000
Average income$48,950$67,500
Minimum wage$5.15$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$4.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.32$0.73
Population270.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Instagram. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.