"To Cruz, the campus’ sun-splashed courtyards were a dark place where he was mocked and ridiculed for his odd behavior, according to interviews with close family friends, students and recently released police and mental health reports.“Someone could have approached a faculty member, a guidance counselor, a teacher and said, ‘This kid gets bullied a lot, someone should do something,’ ” said student Manolo Alvarez, 17, who had history class with Cruz. “I regret definitely not saying anything.” “He was ostracized his whole life,” said Gold, who said he was one of only four people, including Nikolas, and his younger brother, Zachary, who attended the funeral of his mother, Lynda Cruz, in November.
Gold recalled seeing Cruz as a kid attempt to join other kids riding their bicycles in the neighborhood, but the kids brushed him off and called him names.
He would come home from school angry or depressed. “He would come over after school and was visibly upset about being teased, but he pretended that he really didn’t care,” Gold said.
“Despite his mother’s attention, he just felt horribly unloved, and felt he had no one to turn to,’’ Gold said.
Alvarez, 17, said he remembers Cruz being teased in 10th grade. By then, Cruz was getting attention from students for his bizarre social media postings...Other kids at the school would mock Cruz for being a loner.
“When we first had the opportunity to see those records, we were pretty stunned to learn of all the alarms that were being rung with this child,’’ said Chief Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes. “The system totally failed him, and it failed the community, as well.”
Gold said he believes a host of factors contributed to Cruz’s instability: his mental illness, the bullying, an obsession with violent video games, his mother dying, no safety net. Gold: "If you wanted to create a kid who was a serial killer, this is how you would do it."