Is it possible that Wednesday’s school shooting in Florida could have been prevented? And not just through stricter gun policies. Of course, none of the victims are to blame, but the perpetrator, Nikolas Cruz, did show some warning signs that we should all look out for in the future.

According to CNN, somebody who knew Cruz said that he would introduce himself as, “Hi, I’m Nick. I’m a school shooter,” and once added to a post about a New York massacre that he could “do so much better.”

His attorneys have suggested that Cruz suffered from mental issues do to his adoptive mother dying, leaving him without a mom or father, and that he is “a broken child.”

It is evident that Cruz has been a troubled kid for awhile, as seen through his expulsion from the school that he would later commit his crime within.

Students have stated that “if there was someone to shoot up a school, it would be him,” as well as that, “He was off,” and “an evil kid.”

Some individuals also knew that he owned guns, according to the New York Post. One said that he “showed me [his guns] through his phone” and that he had poked fun at the idea of murdering his classmates.

It is also reported that Cruz had multiple Instagram accounts filled with violence and weapons. In some of his poss he wrote, “I wanna shoot people with my AR-15” and that he “is gonna be a professional school shooter.”

17 lives were lost and over a dozen more people were injured due to the violence of Cruz. Now, looking back with 20/20 vision, students and staff are able to see signs that may have indicated that there would be trouble. I beg all of you: if you see anyone showing these signs or something similar, please tell an authority figure so that we can decrease the risk of such massacres.