The Nikolas Cruz penatly trial continues into its second week. Friday marked Day 5 with testimony from officers responding to the scene.
"I started on the west side stairwell, on the third floor, and we went all the way down to the east side, grabbed Anthony [Borges], and we brought him all the way back to the west side," said Broward Sheriff's Sgt. Richard Vandereens as he took the stand describing what he saw when he entered the 3rd floor of the building where Cruz went on his deadly shooting spree. He says he saw a student-later identified as Anthony Bourges who was raising his hand signaling he needed help.
Bourges, who testified Wednesday, saying words cannot describe his pain. He was shot five times, and lifted his shirt to show jurors his scars.
Also taking the stand Friday was Coral Springs Police Detective David Alfin who described video from his body cam captured that fateful day as he tended to victims. Alfin recounted checking vital signs on Jaime Guttenberg as she lay on the floor after having been fatally shot by Cruz while trying to escape. Jaime's father Fred Guttenberg fighting back tears in the courtroom.
Jurors seeing more of the graphic photos captured that day as testimony from other officers described their actions immediately following the gunfire. First responders testifying in graphic detail how they checked for signs of life in assistant football coach Aaron Feis who used his body as a shield to save fleeing students, and athletic director Christopher Hixon who died while trying to disarm Cruz.
First responders who discovered the bodies of students Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver also taking the stand to detail their experiences.
During the afternoon session, jurors heard graphic, medical testimony on Friday from Dr. Iouri Boiko from the Broward County medical examiner's office. He described what he saw during autopsies performed on the victims.
The session wrapped up with Broward County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Detective Danny Krystyan who was the lead forensic detective for the first floor. He was tasked with documenting all evidence recovered in the area and producing a report. He described the specific spots in which victims were found, as well as evidence including bullet casings and broken glass.
This trial is expected to last through October, Cruz faces death or life without parole after pleading guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder.