Here's how authorities say accused gunman Nikolas Cruz spent several minutes Wednesday in Parkland, Fla.

1/38

Abigail Avioa, a senior at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, her back to camera, is prayed over in front of the school on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

2/38

People come to pay their respects and leave flowers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were killed in a mass shooting last week.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

3/38

Bicycles still remain on campus as people come to pay their respects and leave flowers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were killed in a mass shooting last week.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

4/38

Brandon Sanchez, 9, prays with his father Victor Sanchez, center, of Coral Springs, Fla., along with other family members and friends in front of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

5/38

Hearts with the names of some of those killed are hung on the fence at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

6/38

Lauren Fitzsimmons, 12, left, and Ed Staszeski pray during a service at First Church Coral Springs where prayers were said for the victims of the high school shooting.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

7/38

Pastor Vance Rains leads prayers for the victims of the school shooting at First Church Coral Springs.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

8/38

Students gathered at the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Florida to remember those where were killed and injured in the shooting.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

9/38

Isabella Cristancho, 14, left, Valentina Piedrahita, 14, and Paula Mantilla, 13, far right, protest on a corner not far from Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where a gunman killed 17 dead and injured 14 in a school shooting.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

10/38

Family members greet one another as they arrive for the memorial and burial for Meadow Paddock, age 18, one of the shooting victims at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

11/38

Sarah Cardenas, age 38, brings some of her students from Classical Conversation (home school) in Boca Raton to the memorial for the victims of the shooting at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where a gunman killed 17 dead and injured 14 in a school shooting. “We came to pay our respects and pray,” says Cardenas. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

12/38

Isaah Jean, age 14, is a freshman at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School and was in the freshman building and saw the gunman. The only thing he thought to do was throw his phone at the gunman. He fractured his ankle trying to run from the shooting and is now on crutches.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

13/38

Mourners hold a prayer vigil for victims at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla.

(Rhona Wise / AFP/Getty Images)

14/38

Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

15/38

Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

16/38

Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

17/38

Thousands gather for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. to remember those killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

18/38

Antonina Messina, 17, a student at Marjorie Stonemason Douglas High School, left, attends a vigil with her mother Clara Messina, center, and brothter, Matteo Messina, right.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

19/38

Students gather for a memorial at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla., one day after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

20/38

Broward County school board members Robin Bartleman, left, and Rosalind Osgood, second from left, and Chaplain Robert Ossler of the City of Cape Coral Fire/Emergency Department, pray for the victims of the mass shooting after a news conference.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

21/38

Balloons are released Thursday at the end of a vigil for victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

22/38

Marla Eveillard, 14, grieves with friends before the start of a community prayer vigil in Coral Springs, Fla.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

23/38

Florida Gov. Rick Scott speaks to the media as he visits Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooting there killed 17 people.

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

24/38

Parents meet at a hotel to pick up their children after the shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.

(Jim Rassol / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

25/38

Students released from a lockdown embrace after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

(John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

26/38

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the lockdown ended.

(John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel )

27/38

People are brought out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after a gunman opened fire Wednesday.

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

28/38

Students are escorted by police following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

29/38

Parents wait for news after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday.

(Joel Auerbach / Associated Press)

30/38

Parents and family members gather south of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School campus following a shooting in Parkland, Fla.

(Amy Beth Bennett / Associated Press)

31/38

Anxious family members wait for news of students after a shooting at the school in Broward County in southeast Florida.

(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

32/38

Medical personnel tend to a victim after the mass shooting.

(John McCall / South Florida Sun-Sentinel )

33/38

People gather waiting for word from students following the mass shooting.

(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel )

34/38

A law enforcement officer rushes toward Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting at the school in Parkland, Fla.

(John McCall / Associated Press)

35/38

Anxious family members wait south of the campus at which more than 3,000 students are enrolled.

(Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun-Sentinel )

36/38

Family members embrace a student who was released from the school. A shooting at the school sent students rushing into the streets as SWAT team members swarmed in and locked down the building.

(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

37/38

A law enforcement officer tells anxious family members to move back after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

38/38

Anxious family members wait for information on students in Parkland, Fla. Multiple deaths were reported Wednesday as gunfire broke out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

By Jaclyn CosgroveStaff Writer

Feb. 15, 2018 5:30 PM PT

Nikolas Cruz, 19, is accused of shooting several students and staff Wednesday afternoon at his former high school in Florida, killing at least 17 and injuring at least a dozen in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and other sources, here’s a timeline of events from the moment they say Cruz arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, until he was taken into police custody:

2:19 p.m. An Uber driver dropped Cruz off at the high school.

2:21 p.m. Cruz entered the east stairwell of the school’s Building 12, wearing a backpack and carrying a rifle inside a black soft rifle case. He quickly removed the rifle from the case and left the stairwell. Cruz then started shooting. He first shot into Room 1215, then went to 1216 and then 1214. He returned to Room 1216, then went back to 1215 and then Room 1213. Cruz then took a west stairwell to the second floor of the school building and shot a victim in Room 1234.

2:24 p.m. Cruz took the east stairwell to the building’s third floor.

2:27 p.m. When he reached the third floor, he dropped the rifle and backpack inside the stairwell and ran back downstairs.

2:28 p.m. Cruz left the school building and ran west toward nearby tennis courts and then headed south.

2:29 p.m. He then crossed a field and ran west with others who were fleeing the school.

2:50 p.m. Cruz arrived at Walmart, then went to Subway, bought a drink and left on foot.

3:01 p.m. He then went to McDonald’s, where he sat for a short period of time and again left on foot.

3:41 p.m. Officer Michael Leonard with the Coconut Creek Police Department detained Cruz at 4700 Wyndham Lakes Drive after noticing that Cruz’s clothing matched what the gunman was said to have been wearing. Homicide detectives with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office arrived and took Cruz into custody as the suspected gunman.

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com

@jaclyncosgrove

Here’s how authorities say accused gunman Nikolas Cruz spent several minutes Wednesday in Parkland, Fla.

More to Read

More From the Los Angeles Times