Parkland mass shooting survivor Anthony Borges has agreed to relinquish the rights to the name of the man who tried to kill him, ending a legal standoff with other families shattered by the 2018 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Borges, 21, announced through his lawyer earlier this year that he had secured exclusive rights to the name of Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people at the Parkland high school on Valentine’s Day 2018 and physically wounded another 17. Borges was the most seriously wounded survivor, taking five bullets to the lungs, abdomen and legs.
Dozens of plaintiffs sued Cruz, the Broward school district, the Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for their failures to prevent the massacre, but only Borges and his lawyer, Alex Arreaza, worked out a one-on-one settlement with the gunman himself .
That agreement gave Borges the sole right to decide when Cruz can grant interviews telling his side of the story.
Under an agreed-upon court order filed Monday, Borges is now giving up that right. The families of slain victims Meadow Pollack, Alaina Petty and Luke Hoyer, along with survivor Maddy Wilford, have agreed to include Borges in their right to block Cruz from sharing his story with the media or other interested parties. That right was negotiated with Cruz after Borges announced his deal.